LEE Hodson would never have dreamed that he would be playing at stadiums like St James' Park at 18 years of age, but the Hornets defender lived out a boyhood dream on Saturday.

"I watched Newcastle on the television when I was younger against all the big teams like Manchester United, so to go there and play at a ground like St James' Park was a dream" said Hodson after the match in the north east.

"I'm very lucky to be in the team and to be able to experience that.

"Obviously going to a big stadium like that and playing against a team who have just come down from the Premiership, we always knew they were going to be good, but we had a game plan going out there."

The Watford-born player was reflective on the defeat against Chris Hughton's men.

"Going one nil down quite early was disappointing, but we came out in the second half and gave it our all. We were just unlucky that we couldn't get a goal."

Keeping the likes of Jonas Gutierrez and Marlon Harewood at bay was challenging for the youngster, but the mature Hodson saw it as a test of character and a learning experience.

"They're Premiership players so it was a good test for me to play against them and a test to see how I could cope with it.

"I think I handled them pretty well.

"Even though they kept a clean sheet we had a good five or six chances, but we just weren't clinical enough. It definitely could have been a different day if we'd got a goal back early on."

The teenager is now fully focused on tonight's game, determined to leave the defeat of Saturday far behind.

"QPR is a home game, so we want to get onto a winning streak again.

"Having lost 5-1 at the weekend, they will come to us wanting a result and raring to go, but we will be doing exactly the same off the back of the Newcastle game.

"It doesn't affect me when the Sky cameras are there, I just concentrate on the game and block out the TV, it's just a normal game in front of a normal crowd - you can't let it get to you.

"We will give it everything and try and get three points."

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