Aston Villa reserves captain Shane Lowry feels he's on the brink of a first team breakthrough.
A catalogue of injuries in Villa's senior ranks meant Lowry received a call-up for the Barclays Premier League games against Blackpool and Manchester United.
Although the Australian defender remained on the bench for both matches, his first team involvement came as a massive boost.
Now the new reserve team skipper is hoping to catch the manager's eye and earn further opportunities.
"It has been really good," Lowry told AVTV. "I started the season being completely out of the picture, training with the reserves and I was thinking I need a loan move and I need games under my belt.
"But there has been a backlog of injuries and it is unfortunate for those injured players, but at the same time I am delighted to get an opportunity to get on the bench and get in and around the first team.
"Hopefully I can stay in there, training with them and catching the manager's eye."
