Jake Batty has opened up about being pushed out of his comfort zone at Rovers – and why it has been good for his development.
The 19-year-old is currently on loan at Accrington Stanley to get some valuable experience under his belt in League Two.
Batty made his senior debut under Jon Dahl Tomasson and was also part of John Eustace’s pre-season squad in Austria before making the short trip to the Wham Stadium.
The youngster admits it was difficult to adapt when he first broke into the first team picture but believes that what he has learnt will stand him in good stead in the long run.
“When the old gaffer was in, it wasn’t really me – coming inside, getting on the half turn,” he told The Lancashire Telegraph.
“I wasn’t a fan to start with because I knew I couldn’t do it. I just I knew in myself that wasn’t me as a football player.
“But as you gradually go along and start building connections, you start to understand a bit more what he wanted you to do, whether that was analysis with Remy (Reijnierse), Damien (Johnson) or Lowie (David Lowe).
“They were always there to help you out to try and understand what position you need to be in at certain times.
Batty got the chance to work under Eustace in pre-season (Image: CameraSport – Dave Howarth)
“So I think over the over time when the old gaffer was in, I gradually got better but was never unbelievable at it.
“Like I said, that’s not me as a footballer but I think it’s helped me develop a little bit more being on the ball and in tight pressure, and being under pressure while in the middle of the park.”
So far, the demands at Stanley have been more similar to what Batty was used to as he climbed the Academy ranks at Rovers.
The Reds had a tough start to the campaign but have now started to click, racking up wins against Morecambe, Gillingham, Barrow and most recently Chesterfield.
“Obviously under (Eustace), he likes to build up with your full back inside,” the former England U17 international continued.
“It is different to me because I’m normally up and down the wing, whereas now we were building up with a back three, almost centre back position.
“I found that quite difficult for myself but, exactly the same as the old gaffer, you have got people there to help you understand.
“They only want the best for you, I had a couple of meetings and stuff to understand a little bit more of that role.
“But now with Accy, we are playing almost like a back five so the wing back position, which I used to play at Under-18s. I knew what I needed to do there and I think we have got a solid backline now.
“We didn’t concede against Chesterfield and that was the first time they haven’t scored a goal in 48 games, so it shows what we can do as a squad and also as individuals.”
