Mya Christie is looking to grab her Aberdeen Women first-team chance with both hands.
The 17-year-old has moved up from Aberdeen Ladies Under-19 squad to play with the Dons’ first team this season, and has started the first two league games of the campaign.
This season is not her introduction to SWPL 1, as the young striker played three games in the top-flight last term, scoring once against Partick Thistle.
But this year Christie is looking forward to being a permanent fixture within Aberdeen’s first-team in training and on matchdays.
She said: “It’s been good. It’s a big step up from the under-19s, but training and playing with this team is what I need to improve as a player.
“I want to start regularly and put in good performances – and hopefully, get some wins as well. We haven’t done that yet this season, but we’ve shown a great attitude.
“It’s really important for me to be playing in this team. It means I get pushed more. You need to be in an environment where you’re always getting pushed to be better.
“I’m playing at a higher standard at training, and in games against quality players on the pitch, so it’ll definitely help me improve.”
What has Christie learned so far?
Christie feels like she is already starting to understand and learn from the demands of top-flight football.
She reckons the biggest learning curve so far has been adapting her play to the different teams the Dons come up against, who vary from full-time professionals to amateurs.
The striker said: “It’s about playing against all the different teams in this league – you need to know how to play against them, and how and when to change things up.
“It’s important because you’ll get the top teams like Rangers, Celtic and Glasgow City, where you have to play different, as you would against other teams in the league.”
The young forward is eager to keep improving, but is able to appreciate the opportunities she has had so far.
Christie added: “It’s quite surreal playing at this level, where games are on TV, and coming up against these kind of teams and players who play for Scotland.
“Playing in SWPL 1 with Aberdeen, it’s a big achievement for me. I just want to play as much as I can to try and learn more.”