Jack Lynch on his professional deal
In terms of getting a taste, midfielder Jack Lynch has had it all with regular invites to train with the first team almost from the day he walked into the club.
Quiet, unassuming and polite off the field he has a tenacity and dogged determination whilst on it which immediately catches the eye.
“I'm over the moon," he admitted. "It's what I've been working towards my whole life, so for it to finally be real is amazing."
“I was really nervous while we were waiting to be called into the office," he said. "You see some lads come out absolutely chuffed and others who are really disappointed, so it's a difficult day. It was such a relief when Greg [Abbott] told me that I'd been given a contract.
“I knew I'd been playing well throughout the season but until I actually heard it I didn't want to build my hopes up. I've been training with the first team quite a lot so I knew I must have been doing something right, but I was still panicking."
“Once I went in the gaffer told me straight away that it was good news," he explained. "After that he told me what he expected from me when I come back for pre-season so that I’ll have the best chance of pushing on and playing for the first team.
“My family were over the moon as well. Claire from the baguette shop on the front told me my dad had walked in and he couldn't even speak because he was so pleased. I think everyone was just relieved because it felt like we'd been waiting for the decision for ages."
“Even though we know that when we come back we'll be professional footballers it still hasn't really sunk in," he said. "It probably won't hit us until we come back in the summer and start training, and everything like that.
“Training with the first team as much as I have has really helped me improve. It shows you how big the step up is and it's made me realise I need to work really hard to get up to and stay at that standard.
"When you train with them for a couple of weeks consecutively you do start to get used to it and that experience will help me next season. I just can't wait to get going now."
“I don't really set any targets but I would love to be in the first team," he told us. "I think that has to be my goal.
"I want to make sure I come back as fit as I can be so I'm ready to push on and do as well as I can. I'm feeling quite confident that I'll be able to prove myself next season and I'm really looking forward to the challenge."
“We're all good mates so it was really difficult to see the lads who didn't get contracts, because we’ve all just spent the last two years together," he said. "It's horrible because you know that they'll have worked just as hard as everyone else and it makes you realise how lucky you are to get the chance.”