Harris aiming to aid in play-off push | OneFootball

United's second-string take on their Forest counterparts at the Loughborough University Stadium and, with three league fixtures remaining, target maximum points in their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs at the end of the current campaign.

Harris is keen for Newcastle's youngsters, who currently occupy 13th place in the 26-team division, to build on their positive league victories against Stoke City and Middlesbrough respectively in order to enhance their pursuit of a top 16 spot.

The teenage goalkeeper, who signed his first professional contract with the Magpies last summer, told newcastleunited.com: "Everyone is excited. We had a couple days off for the (Carabao Cup) final but we've been training well, being put through our paces to try and keep the fitness up, and all eyes are on Monday's game.

"We're heading into it off the back of two good league wins. We are full of confidence and optimism and if we play well at Nottingham Forest, I feel we have a good chance of winning."

Harris was back in competitive action for United's under-21s during a 2-0 triumph away at Middlesbrough earlier this month after sustaining a meniscus (knee) injury whilst in training.

The Houghton-le-Spring-born shot-stopper, who was named on the bench for the Magpies' UEFA Champions League draw away at AC Milan during the 2023/24 season, was delighted to mark his return in-between the sticks with a clean sheet after a "frustrating" stint on the sidelines.

"I was excited to come back after a meniscus injury in my left knee," the 18-year-old added. "It was annoying because I trained throughout the full session before I did it in the goalkeeping session. I thought I'd be able to carry on playing but it was swelling up after training.

"We had a game the next day so I was gutted to be injured and after thinking I would only be out for a couple of weeks at first, I had an MRI scan and it ended up being around a month. I thought I handled that period well, though, getting in the gym to keep my fitness up and I feel I'm better for it now.

"I was a bit nervous before the Middlesbrough game but I thought we played well in tough conditions against a good team. I was happy with my performance and it was great to get a clean sheet.

"I had a lot of time where I was playing throughout the whole season and to come out of it was frustrating but now I'm back in it and I need to do everything I can to help the team and make sure we get into the play-offs and then make sure I keep my place."