Express & Star

Hard work is paying off for Walsall's Cameron Norman

Walsall right-back Cameron Norman’s hard yards on the training pitch are proving fruitful after picking up his first league assist of the season.

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The 24-year-old has had a mixed campaign, only making 18 appearances in League Two so far.

After some inconsistency, Norman has had spells of impressive form and after assisting Elijah Adebayo for his first goal in the 3-1 win over Exeter – earning his first assist in the league this season – he believes the hard work is paying off.

“We do a lot of work with Marcus Stewart,” he said.

“I get forward a lot so it’s important that I work on that side of the game as well as the defensive side so it’s good when you work hard in training and it comes off on the pitch – I was really happy with that one.

“If I can help in any way that I can, putting the balls in.

“I get forward as much as a wide man so it’s important that I work on that part of the game.

“They take a lot of weight off our shoulders when one goes in and that puts us in a good position.”

Adebayo also hailed the pair’s work in training, while he praised Norman for the pin-point delivery.

“We work on it in training, me and Cam – that’s a part of my game I need to improve,” he said.

“Me and Cam have been practising for weeks now, not just in the last week.

“I’m glad that it’s come off once and we can try to build on it and score more like that.

“It’s a great ball from Cam so I can’t really fault that, I have the easy part putting it in the net – all credit to Cam for that.”

Shay Facey has proved to be the first choice right-back this season, but injuries have reduced him to 17 appearances and only 14 in the league.

Norman was a late inclusion into the squad on Saturday after Facey withdrew with a hamstring knock and the former is now aiming to lock down his position.

“I think there’s competition for places all around the pitch, as you can see we’ve got some really good players,” Norman added.

“That competitiveness is good for everyone to keep on their toes and if there was no competition, you might not play as well so you can only really use that for yourself.

“I’m happy with the competition, so Shay and I just keep pushing each other because we want to do well for the team and for ourselves.

“The gaffer sees the games as different challenges and it’s just taking that in your stride and when you’re not playing, you’re doing everything you can.

“You know that at any time you could be coming straight back in so I’ve been getting my head down and looking at what I need to work on.

“I think it’s been a good 2020, I’m just hoping to push on and put in some good performances.”