Goalkeeper Alex Smithies has thanked the Town fans for the backing they gave him during his Galpharm Stadium debut in the 2-1 victory over Walsall on Saturday.
The 18-year old told htafc.com that he really appreciated the response he received from the 11,000+ home fans at the weekend on just his fourth appearance for the Town first-team.
"The fans were fantastic and really got behind me 100% for the whole game, which did a lot for my confidence," Alex told the Club's official website.
"I don't really get nervous - occasionally I get butterflies in my stomach but I'm not really a nervous person when it comes to football. However, the backing the fans gave me helped me settle in. I only found out I would be playing on Friday morning before training, so I didn't really have chance to get nervous about it anyway!
"To be honest, I was quite surprised to be selected. Matty (Glennon) is a good goalkeeper and for me he had been doing well, but I'm just grateful to be given the chance to play in the first team."
Town's number 28 performed admirably against the Saddlers and it took a wonder strike from Walsall' Alex Nicholls to beat him.
"I saw the ball quite late because James Berrett ducked out of the way of it, so it was well on its way before I took off. It was a good strike though!" Alex admitted.
"I was obviously delighted with how things went. I was just pleased to be given the chance and opportunity to play, but we will have to see how things go and who will play at Southend on Saturday.
"I'm obviously hoping to keep my place but we'll have to see how it goes - I don't pick the team! I'll look to take every opportunity I can and if I'm given the chance to play, I'll try my best - that's all I can do."
With nine points from a possible twelve, Town are in good form and Smithies is hoping to carry that into the busy festive period.
"We need to pick up as many points as we can over the Christmas and New Year period, because we need to be in the top ten come January 3rd. We've talked about it as a team and up until then we are looking to get three points from every game, starting this weekend."
Get your ticket for the Southend game now - call the Galpharm Ticket Office on 0870 44 44 552!
