Rico Richards says making his senior league debut for West Bromwich Albion has made him even more determined to keep improving as a player.
The attacker came on with ten minutes remaining of Albion’s 2-0 defeat to Hull City in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday, March 3 – his second appearance in all competitions in the first team.
The 19-year-old has been in impressive form for the club’s PL2 side recently, scoring one and making one in the 5-2 victory up at Newcastle United last Monday afternoon.
And Rico insists he’s intent on adding more goals and assists to his tally before the season ends, starting with Monday’s encounter with Leeds United at Hednesford Town’s Keys Park Stadium (ko 7pm).
He said: “Making my league debut a couple of weeks ago was really special.
“It was something that I’ve been working towards for such a long time and to have been given the opportunity was absolutely amazing.
“I would like to think my opportunity was deserved because I feel as though I have been playing well in the PL2 side and I’ve been training with the senior side a lot too. I’m really grateful to have been given the chance to play in the Championship.
“All of the younger lads who I play with in the PL2 team were really nice and they all congratulated me after the game.
“I want more moments like that but I know I’ve got to keep working hard and make even more improvements in my game.
“I’m feeling very confident at the moment for lots of reasons. Obviously making my league debut was a big boost, but I’ve also been scoring goals and assisting goals at PL2 level.
“There have been times where I’ve not scored or grabbed an assist in a game, but I’ve still tried to have plenty of shots and create plenty of chances for my team-mates.
“I want to try and add as many goals and assists as I can before the end of the season. That’s ultimately my job as an attacking player.
“The more goals and assists I can get, the better it is for me as an individual and for the team as a whole.
“We managed to beat Leeds up at their place earlier this season and I scored the winner.
“It was a really good battle and a really close game.
“I think they’ll come straight at us this time and they’ll want to get some revenge so we’ll need to be ready for that.”
