"Their striker has played in the Champions League and I feel I'm better than him."
Jack Bailey, rippling with confidence, is sitting in a minimalist living room at the scholars' digs on Milton Road and looking back at their summer tournament success. Bailey scored three times in the Under-18 competition in Dourges, Northern France, including the second in the final against Dynamo Kiev.
This Gallic triumph was a fitting end to a landmark season for the Under-18s and for Bailey himself. After a slow start to the campaign, the former Norwich City youngster earned a regular slot in the starting line-up and forged a hugely profitable partnership with Adam Marriott.
The front man, half-a-head taller than his regular strike partner, admits, "I struggled at first; I wasn't as fit as I could be, but as the season went on I got fitter and improved."
Marriott contributed 26 of the 33 goals the pair managed in the league last term, and Bailey has set his sights on matching that feat this term: "I did set up quite a few of Maz's goals last year," he claims, half-smirking, "but now I'm looking to beat his goalscoring record."
However, Jack is wary of being typecast as 'the big man': "People think 'yeah, he's tall, aim for his head', but I like taking people on and having the ball at my feet."
He continues: "First year I struggled, I found it hard getting knocked up in the air, but as the year went on I got more physical - the Ridgeons League gets you ready for the Conference."
And that is, inevitably, the next aim - a professional contract and first-team place. Is there pressure to get a contract? With ambition typical of the Cambridge United scholar, he replies, "There's pressure, but where I want to go, there's more.
"For a role model I don't look to the first-team, I look at the best - Fernando Torres. I want to go higher than the Blue Square Premier."
As Jack was beginning to find his feet in the division, the departure of Brad Hunter, a forward with not dissimilar attributes, helped catapult him into the side, from where the improvements multiplied. The final few weeks of the season, as the scholars pulled clear of the chasing pack and into second place, saw Jack hit his richest vein of goalscoring form.
He is quick to praise the impact of Jez George, but equally youth team coach Nolan Keeley (above): "They helped a lot, working on my weaknesses. You get loads of feedback here; they take a lot of time out of their lives to help us. Norwich wasn't the best club for me, there's more time for me here."
On Jack's release from Carrow Road as a 16-year-old, Colchester and Southampton both registered an interest, but as he begins his his most important season yet, there are no regrets:
"There's a bright future at the club; a lot of people have put faith in me, I want to repay them."
Henry Milward
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