Mason Bennett has spoken a lot over the past nine months about how important 2017 was going to be for him.
And after signing a new three-year contract with the club, he feels it is an indicator of the progress he has made to force himself back into the first team picture.
After returning from injury at the beginning of the year, Bennett’s form for the Under-23s was nothing short of exemplary as he played a key role in Darren Wassall’s side maintaining their Premier League 2 Division 1 status.
He earned a recall to the first team set-up for the first time in two years and he hasn’t looked back.
Since reporting back for pre-season in the summer, he has been a regular face around the first team picture and when RamsTV sat down with Bennett, 21, about his year so far, he feels that the ‘hard graft’ he has put in has paid off.
He said: “I think it’s rewarding in a way because I did a lot of hard work in the summer and had a lot of tough times during the off-season.
“It’s rewarding for me to get this opportunity to sign another contract.
“Like people always say, if you spend time putting the graft in then you are going to get rewarded for that.
“The manager has seen what I’ve been doing and the progress that I’ve had made and it appears to be paying off.
“To begin with, obviously I was delighted to get back in the dressing room with the lads. They have all been great with me and I’m just over the moon to be back in there with them.”
Recently in a media interview, Rowett spoke about what Bennett needs to do in order to take the next step now and become a consistent figure in the first team starting XI.
The Rams’ boss spoke about the forward improving his goals and assists numbers, but also showing a lack of respect in training.
When asked about the comments, Bennett, the youngest player to ever make their senior Derby debut, says he knows exactly where he stands in Rowett’s thoughts and accepts he does need to be a little more selfish as he looks to further his career and make the most of his new deal.
“Gary (Rowett) has been great and very honest with me,” Bennett added. “It’s just up to me now to work my way into the team.
“As a young lad coming through, when you go down to the first team, you don’t want to upset too many people, but I’m 21 now and I need to be a bit more ruthless because, at the end of the day, it’s a dog eat dog world, as the saying goes, and everyone is trying to earn their place in the team.
“I just want to do what I can in training, and if I’m not selected for the matchday 18 then get as many minutes for the Under-23s as I can to keep my performance and confidence as high as possible.
“Then if the opportunity comes along, I’m ready to take it.”
