News. Langley targeting 'fresh start' against Fulham

langley-fulham-u23
Published
02 Jan 20

Goalkeeper Dan Langley is hopeful Newcastle United under-23s can begin the new year strongly ahead of the young Magpies' Premier League 2 visit of Fulham.

Newcastle's youngsters take on the Cottagers at Newcastle's Little Benton Academy on Friday afternoon (kick-off 12pm BST) aiming to achieve a double over their West London opponents following a 2-1 away win in August.

However, United's second-string currently sit in tenth place of Premier League 2 division two, seven points adrift of the final play-off spot and Langley, who has been competing alongside Jake Turner for the number one jersey this term, admitted his side can learn from a difficult first half of the season heading into the new year.

Langley told nufc.co.uk: "The start of the season has not been ideal in terms of the points that we've wanted so I think it would be a fresh start to 2020 if we can get off the mark with a win and push forward in order to try and get into the play-off places.

"Every game we go into, we believe that we can go and get points out of them. We will approach this game like every other one, going in there and trying to do everything we can to get the three points.

"We know we haven't done as well as we did last season. We need to try and get three points (against Fulham) and push on from that game and try to get something out of the season.

"I feel that we need to be more solid at the back and focus on trying to keep our opponents out a little bit better than what we have been doing at the moment.

"We'll focus on trying to get more clean sheets as the strikers have been scoring goals so we shouldn't be having results like we have. We'll look to concede less and hopefully the results shall come.

"Having the competition from Jake (Turner) is one of the best things you can probably get in football. It keeps you on your game and keeps you more focussed because if you get a permanent place, you could almost ease off. With us, we keep pushing each other really hard in training because we both want to play."

Langley, a Newcastle United supporter, has been participating in the warm-ups of the Magpies' last two league games against Everton and Leicester City respectively, working alongside fellow goalkeepers Martin Dúbravka and Karl Darlow.

The 19-year-old revealed his involvement with the experienced shot-stoppers in recent weeks as well as testing himself before Premier League clashes at St. James' Park has been important for the learning youngster.

"The level and speed goes up with the first team," Langley added. "You keep benefiting from all the players around you and it can only make you better as a player.

"When you're younger, and being from Newcastle, you want to play for the first team. When you are training with them, it feels like you are one step closer to achieving that and it's a really nice environment to be in.

"It's something completely different to anything I've had. When you are looking around in the stadium, seeing a lot of people and hearing the noise of the crowd, it's a really good experience and benefits me a lot.

"They've been really good with me. When I've been at the training ground, they are both giving me little pointers and ways on which I can improve. They are really helpful for my development and I couldn't ask for more from them. They've been top class."

The Premier League 2 clash at Newcastle United's Little Benton Academy is free for the public.

Related Content