CALLUM Johnson has thrown himself in at the deep end at Accrington Stanley.

The 21-year-old completed a permanent switch to the Wham Stadium earlier this month having spent the first half of the season on loan with the Reds.

The move to East Lancashire is the first time he has lived away from Middlesbrough, having grown up just nine miles away in Yarm and first joining the club at under nine level.

His 14-year-association with his boyhood team ended with a move to John Coleman’s men and he is now adapting to life in the Football League.

It brings challenges, on and off the pitch.

Johnson had to wait for his chance in the Stanley side who are riding high in League Two, having not started the season in Coleman’s first choice XI, while he also had to find a place to live.

He is now settled, both in the Reds’ team and his house in Chorley.

“It took me a couple of weeks to settle in but I am living near Chorley now and really enjoying it,” he said.

“I was going to go in a house share with a couple of other lads but I prefer to be in control and I like doing everything right so I am living on my own.

“My family are coming across pretty much every week, it is not too long a journey.

“It is a big change moving away from Middlesbrough, I had been there 14 years, but I am happy and enjoying my football.”

Johnson, who is a right back by trade but has featured predominantly in the middle of midfield for Stanley, added: “I came for six months on loan and as soon as I walked through the door I felt at home and the aim was to get an offer of a permanent contract.

“When I first came here I had to be patient and wait for my chance.

“I was getting positive feedback from the manager and the coaches and I just continue to work hard and I knew I would get that chance, the manager said one would come and when it did I just wanted to take it.

“I have been playing in midfield but I have been a right back since I was 17. I hadn’t really grown so I was playing there and when I came here I moved into midfield and had to adapt physically but I like either position, as long as I am playing.”

The differences between Academy football and the rough and tumble of League Two are well versed, the cliches common knowledge.

And Johnson, keen to learn, is adapting to life in the fourth tier.

“I’ve loved it here,” he added.

“It is the first time I have been involved with a squad where it has really meant something, I am not saying it didn’t mean anything in Under-23 football but this is different.

“It is so different to Under-23 football.

“In Under-23 football it is a case of if there is a pass on then pass it whereas in League Two you have to think about it first, weigh up the risk.

“It is about decision making and knowing when to play and when not to play. You have to know what is at stake and you need a lot of communication.

“I think as much of it is learning to deal with the mental side of the game and staying switched on. I have had to adapt to the physical side of it as well but the mental side is as much a part of it.”

Middlesbrough’s youth system is among the best in the country, regularly producing players with ability but also the mindset to deal with leaving the comfort of Teeside for life lower down the pyramid.

Johnson was a part of the Boro team which played in the Uefa Youth League in the 2015-16 season, bowing out to eventual runners-up PSG in the last-16 having beaten Stade de Reims, Torino and Dynamo Kyiv to reach that stage.

Of the XI who played the French giants, Johnson was one of five who left the club on loan last summer.

And he believes the benefits of moving away.

“There are a lot of players at Boro who are excellent Academy players but it is only in the Football League that you can develop,” he added.

“I want to play as many games as I can and learn on and off the pitch and hopefully be able to say I am a League One player with Accrington next season.”