Jordan Clarke, Coventry City's 19 year old defender has been called up into the England under 20 squad despite having a bad day at the office against Leeds United last Saturday.
Clarke was so disappointed with his performance at Elland Road, he immediately decided to put in extra hours and work at the teams Ryton training ground, but ten had to postpone his self imposed extra workload when Brian Eastick called him into his 18 strong squad to face France tonight.
Clarke's call up came after Crystal Palace's Nathaniel Clyne withdrew from the squad and he now joins fellow Sky Blues Academy graduate Nathan Cameron, currently o loan at Shrewsbury Town.
City boss Aidy Boothroyd has backed his young defender saying: "It just shows you what football is like because he did have a tough time at Leeds but because of what he has done before he has got himself in the England Under 20 squad."
"Jordan will be OK. Every player has bad games or training sessions but it is all about how you respond and he has got a good opportunity to bounce straight back playing for his country."
Clarke was dominated by Leeds winger Max Gradel and it was a mistake made by Clarke that led to the winning goal.
Clarke reflected, "I am upset with myself and just so frustrated because I know I can do better than that. I gave him too much space and when I fronted him up I dived in, which is poor from me."
"He's got pace and he cuts it on to his right foot but I think I made him a lot better than he is. I gave him way too much time and I should have hit him. I did that but it was too late. I should have done it in the first half."
He continued, "From this week I am doing extra in training, foot work and one v ones and next time you see me I am going to be a different player, I'll tell you that now. I have got no excuse for it. I just need to do better and I will do better."
"I haven't played much but I don't like giving myself excuses. Last season I was doing it and it was normal. I wasn't thinking about it but now I am thinking about it too much rather than just doing what I do. So I need to get myself fit and when I do people will see the difference."
Clarke is Coventry born and bred and went to Coventry City Academy. He made his first team debut aged 17 and has also represented England Under 19s on four occasions.
Unfortunately he suffered a knee ligament injury last season which kept him out of the game for months and his career lost the momentum he had built up and had difficulty in re-establishing himself in the squad.
He has only made four starts and seven substitute appearances so far this season which has not helped his fitness of match sharpness. Playing in the reserves and training games has helped, but he needs more competitive games to hone his match skills.
Clarke made a similar error at Swansea last season to the one that led to the winning goal at Leeds. That error cost him his place in the team and he was replaced at half time and after that as he was dropped from the team for a few weeks.
Clarke explained his training regime saying to the CT: "I have been going to the gym to get stronger and I have done that, but I obviously need my fitness because that was my first 90 minutes in goodness knows how long."
"I think I played better at Leeds than I did against Swansea and I am 100 per cent better than that and on the right track. I had 45 minutes against Forest last week when I thought I did well but that makes me even more disappointed with Saturday's game because I had a good 45 and I was confident going into the Leeds game."
"I went on with no pressure against Forest and felt confident and then I went into the Leeds game with confidence but I didn't get tight to him, that's it. He's a decent player and a decent lad because when I hit him I apologised and he said it was fine,but I should have done better and I will do better."
"It was my first time playing at Elland Road. It is a tough place with a big atmosphere and I would love to go back there and score."
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