Sean Roughan feels his loan spell in the League of Ireland has improved him as a player - as he sets his sights on challenging for a first-team place at the Imps.
The defender featured 15 times for Drogheda earlier this year as he looked to put an injury hit 21/22 campaign with City behind him.
The 18-year-old said: "It was good to get the games in over in Ireland, it was a great experience and I can't thank the people at Drogheda enough - they were unbelievable with me.
"I've had three weeks off after the loan, so it's been a short break but it was the same the last season with the play-offs. It was about getting the rest I needed after the season to keep ticking over."
Roughan played the first 45 minutes of Saturday's pre-season friendly at Gainsborough Trinity at left-back, capping off a good performance with City's second goal.
He added: "It was good to come back and hit the ground running, we all just need to keep going now and keep getting minutes in the tank.
"The injuries held me back last season but it's a fresh start with a new head coach so it's up to me to put the performances in during training to hopefully be involved come the start of the season."
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