ADJUSTING to the higher levels of intensity on the pitch and the terraces has been the steepest learning curve for Isaac Buckley-Ricketts.

The teenager’s only experience of competitive senior football came in the Eredivisie – the Netherlands’ top-flight – with FC Twente earlier this season.

But Sky Bet League One has proved a very different challenge for the Manchester City loanee, who is looking for a sixth straight start for United when Plymouth Argyle visit tomorrow.

“It’s a lot different,” he said.

“In Holland the game is more technical and feels slower, but afterwards you feel the same effect.

“In under 23s football (with City) it’s a bit like a chess game.

“Here you can try that, but once somebody comes up to you and shows physicality you have to react, you can’t shy away from it.

“It’s teaching me different things that I’ve not come up against.

“In League One the pitches are tighter and the intensity is higher.”

The same goes for the atmosphere at games provided by supporters.

Buckley-Ricketts, part of the victorious England side at last year’s Under-19 European Championships, said: “I need to be comfortable just playing in front of fans all the time.

“But active fans like the ones in England are different.

“I feel like I’m slowly getting my confidence and getting comfortable with the environment.

“The fans in Holland are passionate, but I think the English fans are very reactive. It can affect a lot and you do feel it.

“Depending on the player, the fans can determine how you play.

“For some if the crowd are on their back it can boost the underdog mentality – ‘let me show them’.

“If the crowd is with you it can make you more confident.”