McCarthy biding his time

08 October 2009 10:20
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} James McCarthy is prepared to be patient at Wigan, but admits niggling knocks have left him frustrated.[LNB] The talented teenager arrived at the Latics this summer with a glowing reputation, having made a name for himself in the SPL with Hamilton.[LNB]The 18-year-old is regarded as a hot prospect for the future, with a number of clubs believed to have been chasing his signature prior to his switch to the DW Stadium.[LNB]McCarthy accepts that he still has much to learn, and must bide his time before becoming a Premier League regular, but he has revealed that he is desperate to prove his worth to the Wigan supporters after seeing his progress in England hampered by injury.[LNB]"I am still young, I need to bide my time and hopefully when I get my chance I'll be able to take it," he told the Wigan Evening Post.[LNB]"You are always learning. Coming down here has been a big learning curve for me, but I'm enjoying it.[LNB]"I've got the gaffer (Roberto Martinez) and Graeme Jones looking after me as well as the other boys, and I'm happy with how it's gone so far. I just need to keep plugging away.[LNB]Test"There are lot of big-name players here and it's just a case of fighting my way into the squad and then the team.[LNB]"It has been very frustrating for me, but we have got a lot of top players at this club.[LNB]"No disrespect to the Scottish game but there are a lot more top-quality players in the Premier League in England, and I want to try to test myself against them."[LNB]McCarthy has been building up his match fitness with Wigan's reserves of late, while he is also hoping to be awarded a run out for Republic of Ireland's U21 side in their upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Georgia Switzerland.[LNB]"Match fitness is what I need now, and that's what I've been getting in the reserves," he added.[LNB]"It's a decent standard, and I'm happy to be playing 90 minutes trying to get my fitness levels up.[LNB]"I'm feeling fine at the moment, and I'm hoping to get another couple of games under my belt for the Republic of Ireland as well."[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports