Joe Lolley would be happy to take some barracking from the Birmingham City faithful if it meant scoring his third Huddersfield Town goal.
The former Blues junior player is hoping to follow up his first start of the season against Rotherham United last Saturday when he returns to the West Midlands.
Born in the Worcestershire town of Redditch, the 22-year-old grew up supporting Aston Villa, and remains a fan of the Premier League club.
But plenty of his family are Bluenoses, and his spell at City means he knows them well, even if he has played at St Andrew’s only once.
“That was in a local junior cup final, not even for Birmingham City, because we were based at the training ground,” he explained.
“I had quite a few years with Blues, and obviously it was quite a wrench to be released at the age of 16.
“But I love football, and I knew I would continue playing at one level or another.”
That meant an appearance for Great Britain Students while he was studying sports coaching at the University of Central Lancashire.
Come Saturdays, he was banging in the goals for Midlands Combination side Littleton, based near Redditch, with 88 in 83 games attracting the interest of Conference side Kidderminster Harriers.
Lolley joined the Aggborough club in the summer of 2013.
His scoring exploits, and rapid rise up the football ladder, continued when Town won the race to sign him in a £300,000 deal in January of last year.
“It’s all happened pretty fast for me, and joining Kidderminster was a big step up from where I had been,“ said Lolley, who has made two Town starts and 18 substitute appearances, scoring twice.
“It’s obviously taken me time to get used to being at a Championship club, but I feel I’m getting there slowly but surely.
“When I first arrived here, I found it hard to get used to the pace and intensity of training.
“I had a few appearances last season, and got my first start, and first goal, in the final match of the season at Watford. Pre-season began well for me, and I had a few games early on, but then I got an injury which set me back for a few months.”
Lolley, whose other goal came in this season’s Capital One Cup first-round win at Chesterfield, was sidelined soon after Chris Powell was appointed as manager in September.
But the boss has always had faith, and the player explained: “That’s been important.
“We have had a number of chats and the manager has always told me to keep working and keep patient, because my chance will come.
“It was great to get that start against Rotherham, and I thought I handled myself okay, even though the result (a 2-0 defeat) wasn’t what we wanted.
“We all know we need to produce a strong response to a poor performance, and training this week has been sharp.
“While I’m taking nothing for granted, I’d love to be involved again, and the fact that we are playing at Birmingham adds even more spice.
“I know there will be a bit of banter, but I’ll be meeting up with my relatives who support Blues after the game.
“I know where they sit in the stadium, and if I was to play and be able to get a goal, I’ll be heading their way!”
