After coming agonisingly close to making his Premier League debut, Mark O’Mahony is determined to keep working hard so his moment comes again.
The 19-year-old striker was stripped and ready to come off the bench at Brentford last Wednesday, only for Roberto De Zerbi to hug the teenager and apologise after delivering the bad news he would not be our fifth and final substitute.
His big moment didn’t arrive due to worries around Joel Veltman picking up a knock, which thankfully came to nothing, but O’Mahony saw the positives despite having to sit back down on the bench.
“Roberto was really apologetic.” said O’Mahony. “He kept saying sorry as he was hugging me but it doesn’t matter. I still saw it as a huge positive that I was in his thoughts when we needed a goal.
“I’ll keep working hard and doing my best to impress him and then we will see what happens. Hopefully my first-team debut might come before the end of the season.”
O’Mahony was also named in the matchday squad for Saturday’s fixture against Arsenal, although he didn’t make the final 20, and the Irishman loved that experience just as much as the midweek trip to West London.
He said, “The whole week with the first team has been another great experience. It’s always so good being around the lads, I learn so much from them all and they all welcome me in.
“Seeing two matches up close against two top sides is great for me. Being involved in the Premier League is everything I dreamed of as a kid, I’ve seen some of the best players in the world right in front of me.
“I’ve been really excited and just tried to take it all in and learn what I can. I’ve loved every moment I’ve had with the first team so far and hopefully it continues.”
For that to happen, O’Mahony knows he needs to keep impressing for our men’s under-21s – a team he’s scored ten goals for in Premier League 2 this season.
He’s been one of Shannon Ruth’s most important players and will be again this evening when Albion face Manchester United away from home, kick-off 7pm.
“It feels like ages since the 21s last played so I’m excited to get back.” said the striker.
“Hopefully we can get the win against United and set ourselves up nicely for a big end to the season. We’ve got three games to go before the knockouts and we want to finish strong and go as far as we can in that.”