Michael Ledger has spoken about the surreal moment he got told he was included in his first Premier League matchday squad.
A standout performer for the under-23s this season, the young defender featured on the bench in Monday’s Premier League draw against Liverpool at the Stadium of Light.
Already fuelled by confidence from featuring in David Moyes’ pre-season tour of Evian, Ledger has gone from strength to strength with Andy Welsh’s young Cats this term steering them to European victories over Benfica and PSV Eindhoven at the end of 2016.
However, Ledger was given a surprise to start the new calendar year as he was drafted in to cover Lamine Kone who missed out through injury.
“It was unbelievable and I didn’t find out until the day before,” the defender admitted. “I was buzzing because it was what I have always wanted and the experience was really good.
“There was basically a full house in the stadium so you can feel the fans getting on top of you and you can sense the passion when you are down on the pitch.
“It’s crazy but I will take the experience away and be incredibly thankful for it,” he continued.
“It’s totally different to what I have been use to because all the media there make it something really big.
“The older lads have always looked after us when we have stepped up - people like John O’Shea and Jermain Defoe have been in our position themselves.
“They knew we would be nervous but the main thing was we were there, we were ready and we took it in our stride.”
