In-form striker Dylan Stephenson has his sights set on a tenth goal of the 2021/22 campaign ahead of Newcastle United Under-23s' Premier League 2 visit of Norwich City on Friday evening.
The young Magpies host their Canaries counterparts at Whitley Park (kick-off 7pm BST) aiming to return to winning ways after a narrow 3-2 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
After netting Newcastle's equaliser against Wolves, Stephenson took his goalscoring tally to nine so far this term and the Blyth-born teenager, who only signed his first professional contract with his boyhood club in June, is not shying away from achieving personal accolades this term.
"I've been happy with my form," the 18-year-old, who currently has eight Premier League 2 to his name this season, told nufc.co.uk. "I'm looking to keep doing what I'm doing and scoring goals to help the team win. Knowing that you're playing against older players, better players (compared to under-18 level) makes you want to try harder.
"At the start of each season, I always set my target of getting double figures. I've been pleased with myself as it's probably the best start I've had to any season during my time at the Academy.
"Another target is to win the Golden Boot in the league. I've had such a strong start, goalscoring wise, and it's great to be amongst the top. Hopefully I can continue the run and try to win it."
Despite missing out on a fourth successive win in all competitions following a late defeat against Wolves, with Stephenson believed Newcastle's youngsters were heavily unfortunate to come away from the Division Two clash empty handed.
However, the young striker is aiming for a winning response against Norwich, with Elliott Dickman set to take charge of United's second-string following the 43-year-old's appointment as the under-23s' Lead Player Development coach on Thursday.
Stephenson added: "It has been a difficult few weeks without a head coach but everyone has adapted really well and we have put good performances together.
"We are all wanting to make a good impression on him and put on a good display for him, trying to get the win.
"We want to put things right after the Wolves defeat but our recent performances have been quite good. We were set a challenge to get three wins out of three last week, which we did, and were just unlucky to not get the fourth against Wolves.
"I thought the game against Wolves was actually one of our best games of the season in how we dominated the ball and created a lot of good chances. It was an unfortunate result with a couple of mistakes that we could've tightened up on.
"I'm expecting it to be a good game (against Norwich) and we'll be wanting to come out on top as we know we have the quality to get three points."
Supporters will be able to attend Friday's Premier League 2 encounter at Whitley Park, with season ticket holders gaining free admission otherwise it's £3 for adults and £1 concessions.