Goal hero Harrison on learning from Lamps and Pirlo

Roberts Harrison

JACK HARRISON is only 22 but no stranger to playing on the big stage.

The on-loan Manchester City youngster set up the first goal and scored the second as Leeds continued their push for automatic promotion. It was a timely reminder to Pep Guardiola, who slapped a £20million price tag on the winger in the summer.

But it is not just in England where he has caught the eye. At the age of 14 he moved to America and after impressing in high school soccer, played alongside Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard at New York City.

“Watching them day in, day out, in training and in matches you pick up little things,” said Harrison.

“I was always trying to learn as much as possible. I did not know how long I would spend with these guys so I just tried to learn as much as I could.

“It’s an incredible experience and I am just so pleased I had that opportunity. Those guys were brilliant with me. It would have been so easy for them to have forgotten about the youngsters, but they were always looking out for me.

“They were fantastic idols for me and I always looked up to them.”

Having seen the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham use the Championship as a springboard to playing in the Premier League, Harrison is hoping to follow their example.

He added: “Everyone wants to play in the Premier League. Those two are great examples of playing in the Championship and making the step up to the Premier League.

“It would definitely be nice for me to do that. We are top of the league, but it’s important not to get too caught up with our position.”

QPR are heading in the opposite direction and have now gone three games without a win.

But Rangers midfielder Marc Pugh believes they have plenty to look forward to.

“We’ve got a great squad, some good, hungry players, but we’ve got to show a bit more belief coming to places like this,” he said.

“We’ve got a good balance of experience and youth and we need to learn from experiences like this. With more belief we could have got a result.”