Conor Gallagher says new boss Graham Potter has told him he has an important first-team role after netting his first-ever Chelsea goal against former club Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Gallagher enjoyed an impressive loan spell at Selhurst Park last season, subsequently leading to high hopes upon returning to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The 22-year-old initially struggled as part of a midfield pivot under Potter's predecessor Thomas Tuchel, however, and was sent off in the August win over Leicester City.
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But following his last-gasp winner against the Eagles, any doubts over his immediate future now appear at ease under a manager with a track record of trusting youth.
"He said I've got a really important role and I need to keep working hard, remembering who I am and what I am best at, and when given the chance to be as effective as I can be," Gallagher told the Evening Standard.
"I just need to keep impressing the manager. There's a lot of top players in the Chelsea squad so it's not going to be easy to get the game time I want. But I'm going to do my best to show that I'm ready and I want to be as effective as I can when given the opportunity."
Cobham academy graduate and England international Gallagher also admitted that he was desperate to enter proceedings as a substitute and believed that he was destined to make the difference.
He confessed: "When I was on the bench I was thinking please just get me on, I've got a feeling. As soon as I got that half-a-yard I was thinking just shoot and as soon as it left my boot, I was thinking it has a chance.
"It is a special moment for me to score my first goal for Chelsea, an amazing feeling, it is a boyhood dream of mine, and of course, it had to come against Palace."
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