Young Terrier talks ahead of Saturday’s game against Doncaster Rovers
- Young goalkeeper Michael Roxburgh on saving his first penalty for the Terriers
- Youngster discusses how Paul Clements and Neil Bennett have helped him improve
- Under-17s take on Doncaster Rovers on Saturday in the EFL Youth Alliance League
Huddersfield Town Under-17 goalkeeper Michael Roxburgh has been focusing on his footwork since joining the Young Terriers.
Roxburgh moved to Huddersfield Town during the summer to join the Under-17 group after spells at Hartlepool, Sunderland and Stockton Town.
Since that point, the youngster has been committed to developing his own game, including using skipping to help with his footwork.
“My main focus at the minute is improving my footwork. I always look back over training sessions and see if I’m improving, then I’ll go home and do the basics.
“I’ll move my feet about or do some skipping – I learnt from a young age going through academies that skipping helps you improve your footwork.
“I want to get it quicker and move across the goal quicker so that if the ball’s going into a top corner, I can get to it faster and it’s easier to save over just diving.”
The goalkeeper was also keen to speak about the benefit of working with First Team Head of Goalkeeping Paul Clements, and Academy Goalkeeping Coach Neil Bennett.
“They’ve helped me a lot since I’ve joined. They’ve told me everything that I need to learn, and they’ve always been there to support me and correct me if my technique’s wrong.
“They’ve highlighted my foot work and my handling when diving. I’m working on easily catching the ball instead of carrying it out, which takes a lot of pressure off the defenders during games
“I know that I can be better, so it’s all about taking it step by step and improving.”
The youngster saved his first penalty during the Under-17s’ 2-1 win over Doncaster Rovers.
“It felt good, it took a lot of nerves to get my first penalty save for the Club and I enjoyed it.
“I’ve watched it back and I’ve had a smile on my face ever since.”
Roxburgh and his Under-17 teammates play Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Youth Alliance League on Saturday (12 October 2019), with the 11am kick-off taking place at Cantley Training Ground, Cantley Park (DN4 6HE).
