AARON Mclean will continue to sharpen up his act after another week of hard graft at training, insisted Phil Parkinson today.

With City not in action again until Sunday, Parkinson is taking full advantage of the extra day to prepare for the televised trip to Barnsley.

Their schedule has calmed down after a frenetic opening two months which saw them play six games in seven mid-weeks at one stage.

That has allowed Parkinson to spend more time with his players on the practice ground – and he believes the benefit of that could be seen in Mclean’s goal-scoring performance at the weekend.

The striker, who netted his third goal of the campaign in the win over Crewe, missed nearly all of pre-season with a calf injury.

Parkinson believes the uninterrupted spells on the training ground have finally brought him up to pace.

He said: “We felt we needed last week on the training ground. A few of them like Aaron have come back and haven’t had much chance to do any fitness work because of all the games.

“Even when he’s been on the bench, we couldn’t work him too hard in case he was needed.

“He was out for a lot of pre-season and even though he’d been getting games, he missed that really hard training.

“Last week was hugely beneficial and this week is another opportunity for the same. You saw the benefit with Aaron and he needs another hard week, along with a few others.”

Parkinson pin-pointed Mclean’s movement for his goal as proof of that added sharpness.

“Movement is so important and a key element of being a striker. You look at some of the top players in the game.

“The timing of his run was superb. He was moving in the box straight away and anticipating where the ball was going to go.”

Parkinson was happy for fellow striker Mason Bennett to get a 90-minute work-out for Derby under-18s at Bolton on Monday. Under the terms of his youth loan with City, he was allowed to play a development game for his parent club.

Bennett has been grateful for the support he has received from Mclean at Valley Parade.

He said: "Aaron Mclean has helped me out so many times. He is constantly in my ear telling me what I should and shouldn't do and how I can improve my game. He's been a real mentor for me."

As revealed in the Telegraph & Argus yesterday, director of operations David Baldwin will be joining Burnley next month. Part of his role with City has been to sign off player deals and contracts.

Parkinson added: “I’ve enjoyed working with Dave since I’ve been here and I’m sure we will remain in touch.

“It’s a good opportunity that he couldn’t turn down and I wish him all the best.”