JAKE McCarthy is looking to add more goals to his game as he builds on an impressive start to life in the Vanarama National League.
Former Bournemouth academy product McCarthy has scored two headers this season, adding two assists.
McCarthy, who has enjoyed leadership roles at Weymouth in the past, also noted two chances against Notts County he felt should have been buried.
And the midfielder, claiming 18 league appearances this season, is looking to ripple the net more often for a Weymouth side boasting three wins in five games.
“It’s always good to score,” he told Echosport.
“Towards the start of the season I wasn’t playing as much as I’d like but now I’ve got into a good run of games.
“I’ve scored two and they’ve both been with my head. I had a couple of chances (against Notts County) which I probably should’ve scored, but two goals isn’t too bad.
“I’d like to increase that. I started the season playing more centre-back but now I’m in centre-mid and it looks like I’m hopefully going to continue playing that for the rest of the season.
“I’m hoping to add a couple more goals and assists going forward.”
Versatility is a key part of McCarthy’s game, and the Terra admitted coming up against quality strikers in the National League at centre-back was a challenge.
“It’s not so much that it’s tough to play a certain position, but when the team was struggling it would’ve been hard whether I was playing centre-mid or centre-back,” he said.
“It is tricky with the strikers. You’ve got to be on your game the whole time.
“Some of the strikers you’re playing against have dropped out of the Leagues to come and play in this league.
“There’s a quality of player you normally find a lot higher in this league than the league below.
“I feel comfortable to play centre-back but more comfortable playing centre-mid, where I feel I can help the team more going forward, as well as defensively from the central-mid position.”
McCarthy is one of the founding members of the Mark Molesley era, rising up from Southern League level to non-League’s top tier.
And the difference in playing standard has been clear to see, according to the former Weymouth skipper.
He said: “The step up’s been good. The quality of players and the fitness levels are a lot higher.
“Going into this league, we knew one of the main challenges we were facing was trying to compete with teams that are full-time.
“The majority of teams in this league are full-time, whereas us and maybe two or three others are only part-time.
“So they’ve got an extra training day and therefore the fitness is going to be higher.
“I feel as though one of the main steps up to this league has been that, and also you get punished a lot more in this league.
“In the league below you can maybe afford to give away two or three chances, but if you give away one chance in this league it usually ends up in the goal.”
