Ruddy aims to brush aside blunder and thrive under intense pressure

JACK RUDDY is a believer that the hardest knocks are the best for you. For a young man on the rebound from a goalkeeping howler last weekend, that is heartening news for Ayr United.

The Scotland Under-21 keeper fluffed a clearance then slipped in his attempt to recover as Ross Stewart claimed victory for Alloa at Somerset Park.

The blunder may prove costly for Ayr’s pursuit of automatic promotion. And as a warm-up for hosting Rangers live on television in the William Hill Scottish Cup, it was no confidence booster.

However, Ruddy’s assurance is difficult to dent. The belief invested in him by his parent club Wolves helps.

The English Premier League-bound team signed the 20-year-old to a contract extension immediately following a fraught loan spell at Oldham.

That harsh exposure to first-team football in League One, which featured five games, no clean sheets, three defeats, bottom of the league and a managerial sacking, might have left its mark on a young No1.

But Ruddy reckons that — and being deposited in the thick of a Scottish third-tier title race — will be the making of him.

‘If you just play Under-23 games in England you will waste away,’ said Ruddy.

‘It is the same as Under-20s up here for a lot of boys. It is important to get men’s football. Competitiveness.

‘People wanting to bump into you and knock you over at corners, people shouting at you from behind in the stands. You don’t really get that in youth-level games.

‘Under-23s in England is a totally different style of football. It’s generally a really nice pitch and people pass it about.

‘Whereas here it is 100mph, the ball is getting put right in on top of you, you are getting all sorts shouted at you. It is a big difference.’

Ruddy was 19 when John Sheridan boldly pitched him into his toiling Oldham team. That was before a 5-1 thrashing by Rotherham contributed to Sheridan’s dismissal.

‘I think I was the youngest keeper in the league and the club was struggling,’ explained Ruddy.

‘When you are at the bottom, you are going to be tested a lot. It was really difficult being thrown in at the deep end. But I really did enjoy it.

‘That experience will definitely help me going into games like against Rangers in the cup and the league matches coming up where there is pressure on us to get promoted.

‘That is what you sign up for. That is the life of a goalie. I made a mistake last Saturday but I have done brilliantly the other three games I have played.

‘I just have to forget about it and move on. You can’t let it affect the next game.’