Cheltenham Town winger Jordan Thomas was named in the EFL League Two Team of the Week after scoring his first EFL goal in a 2-1 win over Salford City.
The 23-year-old signed for Cheltenham in February of last year and has been pleased by his number of appearances in the league this season stating;
“It’s more enjoyable when you’re playing, last year I maybe didn’t get as many opportunities coming off the bench a lot, it’s really nice starting games and making an impact by playing longer.”
Upon being questioned on how he feels about any improvements he’s made in his game to get the winning goal Thomas confidently answered.
“I’m just trying to get into the right places at the right time, that’s what I’ve been trying to work on recently, it creates more chances for myself which helps the team, luckily it fell to me at the end and I put it away which is always a positive” he said.
Thomas said that getting his first EFL goal was “a little in his mind” and he felt relieved to get off the mark to help his team towards victory.
JT makes the @SkyBetLeagueTwo TOTW 👊#ctfc♦️ https://t.co/rUnRuaUD24 pic.twitter.com/hWM9Rd9nPy
— Cheltenham Town (@CTFCofficial) January 27, 2025
Reflecting on the biggest differences between his time in non-league and breaking into the EFL, Thomas showed his character and dedication to improving his game for the team.
“You need to keep your shirt, you need to keep playing well to do that, what I’ve made sure to do is if I’m not playing as well on the ball, you just need to ensure you’re putting the effort in off the ball and doing what the team needs you to do, and that’s maybe having to go 50 yards back to win the ball back, that’s what the team is doing and really grinding out results because of that.
“Before when I was playing non-league you could get away with it more, but the higher you go, you can’t get away with it so you just need to make sure you’re doing your job. Ensure I’m doing that then I’m confident in my ability on the ball to come through, I always have confidence in myself to do that.”
Commenting on his side’s performance in the 2-1 win, where he earned himself a man of the match, and how the game felt overall, Thomas happily said.
“Enjoyable I think, we were back to our best and they’re always a tough side to face, playing very direct. We stopped them doing what they’re best at and also played to our strengths too.
“Doing the basics, just making sure we’re tracking our runners, individual battles. We know the quality we have going forwards, and when we do it right, we can really come out on top.”
JT 🏅#ctfc♦️ pic.twitter.com/Svh8hICpFW
— Cheltenham Town (@CTFCofficial) January 25, 2025