Ryan Cassidy scored a double against Leeds United in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday and is now keen to hit the ground running in Sky Bet League One.
Stanley take on one of the pre-season promotion favourites Peterborough United in their league opener on Saturday behind-closed-doors with Watford loan striker Cassidy hoping to make his league debut.
The 19-year-old has had a strong pre-season since being the second summer signing at the Wham Stadium.
“It’s a very different pre-season than what I have been used to. It’s intense, it means more, it’s more of a challenge than 23s football and I needed that at this stage of my career,” said Cassidy.
“It’s both physical and mental. In 23s football, if you win a game, it doesn’t really matter but if you win a game here, there are points at stake, people’s jobs are at stake, you make the fans happy and it you don’t win, it’s the complete opposite.
“It was a good all-round performance by the team against Leeds. I was very happy to score the first two professional goals of my career and hopefully there are more to come this season.
“It was good to put in a performance like that before the Peterborough game on Saturday and hopefully we will get a good result.
“I think if we work our hardest and show people what we can do, we can beat anyone on our day, that’s just my opinion. We know it’s going to be a tough test but we will be ready for it.”
Republic of Ireland Under 21 international has settled into life in Lancashire, living with another loan signing, Newcastle wide player Tom Allan.
“It’s a nice area, I live in Blackburn, and since day one the lads have welcomed me.
“It’s a nice group of lads but, when training comes, it’s very serious.”
The full pre-match interview video with Ryan Cassidy is available to watch on the club's official YouTube channel, CLICK HERE to find out more!