Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Corey making his mark at Rovers
It’s been a sharp learning curve, but Corey O’donnell says his loan at Albion Rovers will boost his chances of making the grade at Motherwell.
The 18-year-old is on loan at Rovers from Fir Park until January as he develops as a striker in his first year as a professional.
He netted his first senior goal against Edinburgh City earlier this month and came on as a substitute as Brian Reid’s side continued their good run of League Two form with a 1-0 win over Stirling on Saturday.
O’donnell said:“it’s a change from training with Motherwell at Dalziel Park but it’s good.
“It’s what I look forward to. I like learning about the physical side of the game here. I’m really enjoying it.
“I’m enjoying getting minutes which is all I am needing at the minute. The full thing is a bit different but players like me need that.
“We are fighting for a place in the team and I’m managing to get minutes in, which is good.”
O’donnell trains with Motherwell full-time, which means he’s learning lots from first-team forwards Tony Watt and Kevin Van Veen. But the rough and tumble of League Two is of even greater benefit.
He explained:“it’s my first season as a full-time professional. I signed in the summer. It’s been a good year so far. I’m just getting started. I hopefully have a lot more to look forward to.
“I’m at Motherwell training during the week. Guys like Tony Watt and Kevin van Veen are brilliant, just watching them in training and seeing how they do things. There’s just so much to learn off them.
“It’s brilliant. Recently I’ve been doing a couple of double training days but even if it isn’t that, my training is really hard.
“I spoke to guys at Motherwell and they congratulated me on my first goal. It was brilliant and hopefully it’s just the first.
“The big difference is at Rovers, things are a lot of more physical.
“You are getting more action against defenders which, for me, is a lot better.you learn the game a lot better that way.”