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Manchester United youngster James Nolan speaks about grabbing the chance of first team football on loan with Inverness Caley Thistle





JAMES Nolan says going on loan to Inverness Caledonian Thistle from Manchester United is a chance to truly learn what it means to be a professional footballer.

James Nolan pictured in action for Caley Thistle. Picture: Ken Macpherson
James Nolan pictured in action for Caley Thistle. Picture: Ken Macpherson

The 19-year-old defender is experiencing his first taste of first team senior football with Inverness after arriving from Old Trafford in August.

He signed his first professional contract with Manchester United 12 months ago, but hasn’t played for the English Premiership outfit’s first team.

But he’s featured heavily for Manchester United’s Under-18s team over the past few seasons and last year he featured in their Premier League 2 side in the Under-21s.

Arriving at Inverness before the end of the summer transfer window, Nolan says having the opportunity to play first team football is the reason he headed north of the border.

He is enjoying his time at Inverness, saying he is learning what it takes to become a professional footballer and is in regular contact with Manchester United on how things are going.

Speaking about his time with Caley Thistle, Nolan said: “I am loving it.

“This is a really nice place to live. All the lads are top, the gaffer is top. It is a special club to be at.

“I have phone calls with Manchester United every week as they have been asking how I am getting on. They have been really supportive and I need to thank Manchester United and Inverness for the opportunity.

“This is a massive opportunity for me as I am still only young. To have the chance to come here and learn my trade is massive for me. It will help me in my career going forward.

“I have trained with the first team at Manchester United, but never played a game for them.

“It has always been under-21’s football. Coming here has opened my eyes about how good the standard is and how hard it is to play the professional game that all kids dream of. But I am lucky enough to do that.”

Nolan has arrived at Inverness Caledonian Thistle during a turbulent time for the club.

But after going into administration in October, Inverness had appeared to turn their form around.

However, Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Cove Rangers was a blow to their ambitions of getting out of the bottom two and avoiding relegation at the end of the season.

Nolan says they need to learn from their mistakes and produce a performance against Dumbarton next Saturday, which is now a massive bottom of the table clash, with only three points between them.

Speaking about the Cove defeat, he said: “It was a tough game, but it is one we can learn from definitely.

“We will come back on Monday and pick the pieces out of it. It is a new week on Monday and we go again against Dumbarton.”

“Half time was the worst thing that could have happened to us. We had momentum, but they came out again and scored a goal, which made it a bigger uphill battle.

“Going in at half time killed us. Things didn’t click which happens during a season. But we will put it to one side and move on.

“It is one step back, but next week is a chance to take two or three steps forward. It is only a bump in the road, but there are always going to be bumps in the road we will need to move on.”

Read: Head coach Scott Kellacher says everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong.


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