CONNOR Wickham made history by becoming Ipswich Town's youngest ever player but his thoughts turned straight back to the serious business of studying for his GCSEs.

Derek Davis

CONNOR Wickham made history by becoming Ipswich Town's youngest ever player but his thoughts turned straight back to the serious business of studying for his GCSEs.

Wickham is likely to be involved again for Town today at Bristol City and is looking forward to the day he becomes a full-time pro.

He said: “I'm off this week because of the Easter holidays but after next weekend it will be back to school as normal.

“I've got to do my GCSEs and then I can't wait to get going with Ipswich full time.”

Wickham met Jason Dozzell, the man whose record he broke, before the game and enjoyed getting the call 65 minutes and 28 seconds into the game against Doncaster Rovers.

He said: “It was great to get involved and I thought I did okay.

“The manager told me to warm up and the next minute I was on. There were no nerves. I couldn't wait.

“It was just excitement.

“I thought I handled it okay. I had half a chance when the ball came across but I thought I was offside and the ball just got away from me.

“It's a great honour for me to be the club's youngest ever player. I saw Jason Dozzell before the game and he wished me well. Now I just want to stay involved and play as much as I can for the first team. Once you get a taste of it, you want it more.

“I know I have to keep my feet on the ground but I think I am pretty level headed and I've got the right people around me to keep me that way.

“Some of my friends from school came along to give me support. My family were here as well and it was a special moment for me but obviously the result was very disappointing.”

Blues boss Jim Magilton praised the Philip Morant schoolboy but was otherwise unhappy with his side.

Magilton said: “I apologised to Connor for what happened and he was the bright spark of the day.

“Connor showed more desire than many of the seasoned pros and I was delighted for him and the way he handled himself.”