I’ve got a point to prove
playing a team two leagues above us.
“So the shackles were off really and we just went for it. When they scored the first goal after 15 minutes or so everyone just thought let’s give this a go and if we come up short, we come up short but it worked out in our favour.
“I think I was only on the pitch four or five minutes before I scored, so it’s good to make an impact straight away.”
City fans may recall that it was similar story when he eventually burst onto the first team scene at Coventry when he went on a second half substitute at Peterborough United and scored ten minutes later with what turned out to be the winner in a 1-0 verdict at London Road.
“It’s all about hard work,” said Turgott, who is currently on loan at Boreham from League Two Stevenage, who City face next Tuesday night.
“I just try to keep my head and stay focused on taking my chance when it comes. I got my opportunity and got a goal to help the team.”
Asked what went wrong at City, the former West Ham United trainee explained: “It was strange because I was brought in by Steven Pressley and was playing a lot of Under-21s football.
“I trained well and in the space of my first couple of weeks he got sacked, which is obviously not what you want when you come in to play for a manager who has signed you.
“Neil McFarlane, who was caretaker, gave me my debut at Barnsley and, to be fair to him, he was really good with me because he was there when Steve Pressley brought me in and knew what I was about as a player.
“And it was weird because Tony Mowbray came in and didn’t know anything about me so I had gone from coming to a club because of the style of play and way the manager wanted to play, and in the space of two weeks I had to start over again under a new manager.
“I had to prove myself all over again, playing in the reserves and doing what I do to perform well and make sure that when I did get my chance that I was ready.”
That chance did come in March 2015 against The Posh.
“It was crazy because I came on in my first game under Tony Mowbray and scored, got the winner at Peterborough and he still wasn’t giving me the opportunity despite playing so well and taking my opportunity,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure what else I had to do. Even at the end of the season I thought he was going to give me another contract but I knew I had to go where someone had proper faith in me.
“It was just one of those situations. Obviously I would have liked to have played more at Coventry. I learned a lot about myself because it was one of the first places where I didn’t play a lot so I had to adapt.”
As for the second round draw and prospect of going back to the Ricoh, where he played his last game for the club, going on for the last ten minutes of a 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient, he said: “It could have been a lot worse – a Carlisle away or Plymouth away. At least it’s not that far away and for me it’s nice to be playing against one of my old teams.
“At this stage it’s just about winning and it’s the glory of the cup.”
He added: “It’s a weird one because it’s the second round and everyone wants to get to the third round, do everything they can to get there. You could say you want a team in the lower leagues but on the other hand it’s always nice to be involved in an upset and face up to a bigger team, someone like Coventry and their big stadium.
“Obviously it would have been better for us if we’d have been at home but it’s a great stadium to play in.
“For me it’s about me going to show Coventry, as a club, why I should have stayed on really. So, I have got a point to prove, definitely.”