Paul McCallum eager to make an impression
Paul McCallum says he is determined to repay the faith shown in him by AFC Wimbledon after the Dons extended his loan deal.
After being sent-off on his Dons debut at Morecambe, the Streatham-raised West Ham striker admits he has filled in some of his spare time during his suspension by helping AFC Wimbledon to victories on Championship Manager.
However, the 19-year-old has kept himself ticking over by training hard and he scored in a behind closed doors match against Shanghai Shenhua for West Ham Under-21s recently.
And McCallum admits he is excited about making his home debut for real against Northampton on Boxing Day, rather than playing at being the Dons on the computer.
“It has been frustrating for me as I thought I was unfortunate to get sent off,” he said. “But now I have my first home match for Wimbledon, I am buzzing about it and I cannot wait to get out there and play. The manager has shown faith in me. When I was offered an extension here I jumped at the chance because Wimbledon is a local club for me and I want to show what I can do at first-team level.”
McCallum, who started his career at Dulwich Hamlet, has been in prolific form for West Ham Under-21s this season, and it is now a crucial time for him in his career after he put a serious injury behind him.
man and if they give us that bit extra, then hopefully we can get a win and I can snatch a goal.”th“West Ham are keeping an eye on me and deciding on my future,” he added. “They have given me an extra month here to prove I am good enough. I have been a professional for two-and-a-half years now. This is the first season that I have been injury-free and playing every week. I have carried on scoring goals, but I have to keep plugging away and working as hard as I can. With the position Wimbledon are in now, we have to start pushing up the table. The fans can be our 12
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