BLACKBURN-born Serhat Tasdemir says he is looking forward to the new season after having his first year with Peterborough United cut short.

The attacking midfielder was back in his hometown this weekend and spoke to the Lancashire Telegraph about life during lockdown and working his way back to full fitness ahead of the re-start next month.

Twenty-year-old Tasdemir joined Peterborough on a three-year deal from Fylde last year, for an undisclosed six figure fee. The Posh missed out on the play-offs by just a point in League One after proceedings were brought to an abrupt halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “It was good - obviously a massive step up from non-league and for me to join a team like Peterborough who are pushing for promotion and to be involved in that was a good experience for me. I learnt a lot.

“The fans have been great with me since I came, showing a lot of support on and off the pitch.”

Tasdemir had joined AFC Fylde Academy aged 15, from Blackburn Rovers. Academy. On his step up to the first team he scored just 14 minutes after coming off the bench to become the club’s youngest ever goalscorer. He went on to make a further 25 league appearances that season, adding three more goals to an impressive first season in senior football.

Since his move to Peterborough, the break mid-season has meant he has like many sports players had to maintain a level of fitness.

“During lockdown we were given weekly programmes to do to keep fit. We used the app Strava to track our data,” he explained, adding: “My advice for other local footballers would be that if you really want it you have to go for it 100 per cent and you have to be willing to sacrifice things in order to reach your goal.”

Looking ahead to the new season Tasdemir hopes to go one step further with Peterborough.

“I’m looking forward to the season starting in September. Last season we were cut short with the play offs due to Covid which was really frustrating for us but we will use this as motivation for next season and God willing we will get that promotion,” he said.

Tasdemir comes from a footballing family. His father Servet, who came to the UK in the late nineties, played professionally in Turkey. Servet will be familiar to many who played in the Blackburn Combination League over the past two decades and a young Serhat would join his father at Pleasington Playing Fields weekly.

“Being born and bred in Blackburn there’s a lot of things I miss but the main thing I miss is being around my family and friends. One of my biggest challenges was being away from home and it’s something I just have to deal with,” he added. “This is part of football.”