Alfie McCalmont says he is aiming to impress Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch, after the American told him he will be keeping 'a close eye' on the midfielder.
McCalmont joined League Two outfit Carlisle United on loan until the end of the season on Monday. The Northern Ireland international has been training with Leeds since returning from his loan spell at Morecambe at the end of last season.
Although McCalmont believes he has benefitted from training with quality footballers at Thorp Arch, he is determined to seize his opportunity and 'compete' at Carlisle.
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“They’ve [Leeds] told me to come here and enjoy myself and play as many games as I can,” he told Carlisle United's official website. “That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.
"I spoke to the gaffer [Jessie Marsh] before I left, I had to go in to get my boots, and he said that he'll be keeping an eye on me. He's going to get the clips and monitor how I'm doing here and hopefully he'll have seen some good stuff come the summer.
“I’ve been training and playing games over there to keep my fitness up so that when it was all done I’d be ready to go straight at it and get into the games.
"Training with the Leeds first team is fantastic, the quality is brilliant, but I really want to be playing games. I want to be out there and competing.”
The 22-year-old has had loan spells at Oldham Athletic and Morecambe in League Two and League One respectively, and has vowed to bring those experiences into his latest stint at Brunton Park.
Although Oldham limped to an 18th-place finish during the 2020-21 season, McCalmont impressed with his performances, as he scored eight goals in 32 games. He is determined to hit the goal-scoring trail once again upon his return to the fourth tier in Cumbria.
“I’ve been on loan a couple of times so I know what it’s all about. I’ve been at this level before so it’s not like I’m going in blind. I know what to expect, so I’ll be going into it to do my best.
“Hopefully I can do what I did last time I was on loan because I scored a few goals with Oldham. It’d be good to do something like that again.
“From the two years I’ve had out on loan I think I’ve learned a lot and hopefully those experiences will help me with this one and I can bring it into the team.
“You learn loads, to be honest. I was 19 when I did my first one and it did feel like I was going into it for the first time a bit blind, and going into the changing room was a really different experience.
“Then you quickly pick up on how much competitive football means to the fans, and the staff, and getting three points is absolutely everything."
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