MURRAY WALLACE has just made his Town debut.

But the highly-rated teenage centre-back knows he may have to go out on loan in order to bolster his bid for further appearances under Simon Grayson.

The Scotland Under 21 international went on at left-back in place of injured Calum Woods as Town claimed a 1-1 Championship draw at home to Blackpool on Boxing Day.

But he’s primarily a centre-half, and at the moment, behind captain Peter Clarke, Wales international Joel Lynch and Anthony Gerrard in the pecking order.

Grayson inherited Wallace when he took over as Town manager last February.

The 19-year-old prospect had been signed from Falkirk for £300,000 by Lee Clark a month earlier, but only on the proviso he was loaned back for the remainder of last season.

He joined up with Town after helping Falkirk finish third in the Scottish First Division, reach the League Cup semi-finals and win the Communities Cup (for clubs outside the Premier League).

Grayson soon saw enough to persuade him to part company with Antony Kay and Jamie McCombe, but keep Wallace, who made his Scotland Under 20 debut during the close-season and has played three times for the Under 21s this term.

He’s also been a regular in the Town Under 21 side, but has had to be patient in his wait for a first-team appearance to log alongside the 41 he made for Falkirk.

“It’s been a bit of a frustration, because while the Under 21 league is enjoyable, it’s not the same as first-team football,” said Wallace, who marked hot property Tom Ince on Wednesday, when Town went ahead through Gerrard in the 66th minute and kept the lead until the fourth minute of time added on, when on-loan Aston Villa frontman Nathan Delfouneso levelled.

“I really need a spell of regular games, and if that means going out on loan during the January transfer window, so be it.

“Chris Atkinson had his stint at Chesterfield and has come back and made a real impression, and maybe the same thing could happen for me.

“There were one or two clubs interested back in October, but the gaffer wanted to keep me around the club because I was still settling in after moving down from Scotland.”

Glaswegian Wallace, who comes from a mainly rugby union playing family but broke ranks to sign for Rangers before being picked up by Falkirk, admits playing at left-back was a first during his time at Town.

“I’m most comfortable at centre-half, and that’s where I’ve played in the Under 21 league, but I played left-back a few times for Falkirk, and I enjoy the attacking side of the role particularly,” he explained.

“The manager hadn’t seen me there, but with Calum struggling after taking a knock, took me on my word, and it was great to finally get on the pitch for Town in a first-team game.

“I felt privileged to be involved in a Championship match against such good players, and I really enjoyed the occasion.

“Playing against the likes of Tom Ince was great. You do face some good players in Under 21 games, but it’s different facing them at league level.

“Like I said, it’s been frustrating, but we have a strong squad here and you can’t allow yourself to get into a negative mindset, thinking that chance will never come.

“I have been working hard and trying to learn as much as I can in training and Under 21 games to make sure I’m prepared for whatever happens, either at this club or out on loan.”

Looking back at the Blackpool match, Wallace said: “We never got a hold of the game. We played too many long balls and didn’t pass it about as we can.

“They had two good chances in the first few minutes and that set the tone. The manager had a word with us at half-time and we picked up a bit in the second half, but we weren’t great.

“We were probably a wee bit lucky to come away with a draw, although we almost had three points, which would have been brilliant.

“At least we showed a bit of character to get something from the game and we’ll move on to today’s match, aim to perform as we can and get the three points we need.”