Armani Little was all smiles last night after he made his first team debut for Oxford United.
The young midfielder has had to be patient since joining from Southampton in the summer but had an outstanding game as the U’s beat Spurs Under 21s 3-0 at Grenoble Road.
“I think it was a deserved win” he told iFollow. “I thought we started very well, showed a bit of presence and dominated them early on, which was the plan. We played some good football and having watched them before we knew they liked to play out from the back, as Under 23 sides do, and we managed to press them quite high and win the ball back a lot in good areas.”
Armani showed great touches on his first full appearance but was typically modest when asked about his own performance:
“I thought I did alright. I worked hard but was just buzzing to be out there and determined to make the most of it.
"I have trained hard all season and I think going out on loan at Woking has definitely helped as well. Playing for three points every week is what I needed to be part of and it has gone well. Obviously we got through in the FA Cup and there’s a massive game against Watford in the next round so it has been great experience.”
With fellow under 23 midfielder Aaron Heap also making his home debut it was a hugely positive night for the U’s and Armani knows he now has the chance to kick on and build from his first start.
“It was great to be involved but I can’t just stop here” he said. “I have to keep working hard and push every day to put thoughts in the Gaffer’s head and try and get more opportunities.
"You can’t just work hard, the quality has to come out as well if you can. It would have been great to get a goal on my debut; I had a couple of chances at the back post, but it doesn’t matter too much, we are through, we have kept our great run going and it was a good night all round.”
See the full interview and highlights in iFollow