CAT JON’S A KEEPER FOR PARKY
Mourinho wanted young Harrop to stay but Josh chose Preston instead
SUNDERLAND have a fight on their hands to hang on to Jon McLaughlin.
The Scotland keeper has overcome a shaky start to the campaign, keeping six clean sheets in his last seven outings.
It has coincided with a dramatic upturn in form which has seen the Black Cats haul themselves back into the promotion frame ahead of today’s trip to Oxford.
McLaughlin’s contract runs out at the end of the season and clubs on both sides of the border are interested in the 32-year-old (above).
Boss Phil Parkinson, however, wants him to commit his future to the club.
“Jon is someone we want to keep,” he said. “His recent record puts him up there as one of the best in this division.
“He has a lot of experience, is always so calm and handles pressure situations ever so well.
“He didn’t have a great start to the season and has had to go up a level in everything he does.
“But we’ve been very pleased with his contribution in recent weeks.”
Rotherham Peterborough Coventry Wycombe Sunderland Portsmouth Ipswich Doncaster Fleetwood Oxford Utd Gillingham Burton Albion Bristol Rovers Lincoln City Blackpool Accrington Shrewsbury MK Dons Rochdale AFC Wimbledon Tranmere Southend Bolton
P 30 32 29 31 30 29 31 30 29 29 30 30 30 32 29 30 29 31 31 30 30 30 28
W 17 16 14 15 14 14 13 13 13 12 10 11 10 11 9 9 8 9 9 7 5 3 5
L F A Pts 8 54 30 56 9 64 37 55 3 41 28 54 8 39 36 53
D 5 7 12 8 9 8 10 9 9 9 13 7 10 9 9 11 5 16 10 10 9 12 11 10 6 16 6 16 8 15 8 17 7 20 8 15
36 29 41 38 33 41 38 40 38 37 41 43 25 34 33 42 35 51 35 44 28 53 33 76 24 59
Championship: 3pm
JOSH HARROP took the decision he never wanted to make by walking away from Manchester United.
But the boyhood Red Devil believes that choice, made in 2017, will be vindicated if he can make it back to the Premier League with Preston.
Harrop, 24, has scored eight goals this season for North End and Alex Neil’s side are in the mix for automatic promotion from the Championship.
They have closed the gap on Leeds after four wins in their last six ahead of today’s clash with Millwall.
And that means ex-United attacking midfielder Harrop is closing in on a return to the division he has already made history in.
Stockport lad Harrop made just one appearance for his beloved United when Jose Mourinho picked him for the final game of the 2016-17 season against Crystal Palace.
He achieved a lifelong dream, and went down in history by becoming the 100th player to score for United in the Premier League.
“I was signed by United at six or seven,” said Harrop. “It was always my dream to play for them. I came through with the likes of Ben Pearson, James Wilson, Ashley Fletcher, Andreas Pereira and Marcus Rashford.
“Jose Mourinho gave me the chance. He had a word with me a few days before to tell me I would get a chance. I was nervous but it was a great moment.”
Many young players might have believed their debut could provide the springboard into the first team on a regular basis. But Harrop had already made up his mind to move on.
So when a contract offer came that summer to stay at Old Trafford he took the bold decision to decline it.
“It was a decision you never want to make,” he said. “But the message was it might be better to look elsewhere.
“Getting to play that game helped the decision as I’d done what I always wanted to do. It was not easy though.”
But there is no doubt Harrop is on the right path and feels players at big clubs who are struggling to break through should not take the easy choice of not moving on.
“If you’re getting into your twenties and not playing then you have to be thinking, ‘I need to go play’,” he said.
“You can’t fall into the traps of the lifestyle of a footballer, you have to put all of that to the side and focus on actual football.
“I’m very much driven in the fact I want to be the best player I can be. The lifestyle is just part of the parcel.”
Harrop opted for Preston and enjoyed a solid first season at Deepdale before disaster struck in his second campaign as the young midfielder suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a 3-2 defeat by West Brom.
“The first few months was a mental battle,” he said. “But it’s made me more hungry and given me more desire. That desire is now to help fire Preston into the top tier.
“That’s my main aim – to push to get into the Premier League. I want to be an inspiration to young players. It’s not an easy task to get promoted but we are working really hard.”