ACCRINGTON Stanley striker Max Hazeldine is ready to take his chance when the Reds return for pre-season training later this month.

The 18-year-old was rewarded for his fine displays for the club’s youth team last season with his first professional deal and made his Stanley debut as a substitute on the final day of last season.

MORE TOP STORIES:

And the frontman is determined to make the most of his opportunity and repay the faith shown in him by Reds boss John Coleman.

“When someone takes you on like this you know they must think you’re good enough but you still have to prove that you’re good enough,” said Hazeldine.

“There’s a bit of pressure on us but not too much. We have to prove to the manager that we’re as good as the players in the first team dressing room.

“I think it’s better to be here than at another club because there’s no reserves, no under 21s and the club will use young players in the first team because they don’t have loads of money.”

Hazeldine recovered from a long-term knee injury earlier in his career and admits he is ready to make up for lost time.

“When I was sitting at home on our sofa all day with my knee all swollen up in a big cast I never thought I’d come back like this,” he told the club’s official website.

“When I did it the second time I wanted to give up. My dad and my mum were great and told me not to give up and to just keep going. I came back and started playing well.”

And Hazeldine believes that Stanley’s academy will continue to produce first-team players after the striker was joined by Keenan Quansah and Kealan Steenson in securing professional contracts.

“There are some great players coming through the youth team,” Hazeldine added.

“Hopefully us getting pro deals can give the youth lads confidence. If nobody got a contract then they’d be thinking they had no chance of getting a contract but now people have it gives them the incentive to go and get one.

“If the club will take chances on young players then they’ll be prepared to take more on in the future. They just have to work hard. They know that the contracts will be available to them if they do that.”