Former non-league striker Louis nets winner but urged to be ‘more selfish’

REF:

Moult

LOUIS MOULT can’t be accused of taking the easy way out and finally his hard work is beginning to pay dividends.

The Preston striker was a star in the making when he signed his first professional contract for Stoke City at 17 – but it was not the path to Premier League millions he thought it would be.

Eight years and eight different clubs later, Moult feels he finally belongs when most would have walked away from the game with shattered dreams.

Moult has endured six loans and five spells in non-league football during that time in the wilderness, in a bid to establish himself in the professional ranks.

“So many people said to me that once you are down in the non-leagues, it’s so hard to get back. But I was determined to prove people wrong,” said 26-year-old Moult.

“Maybe when I was young I took things for granted, but I learned the hard way and going down to non-league has made me the person I am today.

“I could have walked away but, in football, you have to look at yourself and I wanted it so badly.

“That’s why I am very proud to be where I am.”

Almost a goal every other game in 84 matches for Motherwell went a long way to highlighting the promise first seen at Stoke.

And that attracted the attention of Preston boss Alex Neil, who feels if he can get Moult to be more self-centred on the pitch, he could have a 20-goals-a-season man on his hands.

“He wants me to be selfish and stay in the box more,” said Moult (celebrating his goal with Tom Clarke, below) and that was exactly where the striker was to force home Lukas Nmecha’s cross.

Wasted opportunities in a dominant first half was the reason Forest slipped to only their third defeat of the campaign with Joe Lolley, Matty Cash and Tendayi Darikwa all missing chances.

Sub Daryl Murphy also fluffed a header late on to salvage a point, leaving Forest manager Aitor Karanka frustrated.

“We should have been two or three goals ahead at half time, maybe more,” he said. “We have to learn from this. If we want to win games, we cannot waste chances like that. We have to be clinical.” Karanka will be hoping the lesson sinks in quickly, in time for the trip to bitter rivals Derby County in a week’s time.

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