DEADLINE day arrival Kazaiah Sterling says swapping the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the cut and thrust of the Championship is just what his career needs.
Sterling, who arrived in Greenock yesterday, hopes that he can take full advantage of his fourth loan spell away from North London, as he looks to thrive under the pressure of regular first-team action with Ton.
The 22-year-old hitman is adamant that he can provide some much-needed firepower to Ton's frontline and believes that manager Anton McElhone can help get the best out of him.
He believes that Cappielow can be the place where he can kickstart his career as he looks to play a key role in the second half of Ton’s campaign.
He told the Tele: “I’m really looking forward to getting going, I saw the stadium for the first time today and everything is perfect.
“Everything was done quite late on Monday and I didn’t know whether it would go through on time but I’m happy that it did.
“I can’t wait for Saturday now, I’ve come up here to play football and get a good run of games under my belt.
“I’d say that this is a really important loan for me, it’s my fourth one of my career and I really just want to get a clean run at things, especially coming in here with an important role as well.
“That’s the most important thing for me at this stage of my career, to be playing games and getting used to men’s football.
“I know that the team haven’t really been scoring that many goals recently, so there will be an expectation for me to hit the ground running. I’m really looking forward to having that pressure on me.
“It’s good to have that kind of responsibility at such a young age, I feel it will be a good stepping-stone for me here.
“Hopefully I can get as many goals and assists and help the team as much as I can.
“It will be a good experience for me living so far away from home, it will help me grow not only as a player but as a person too.
“At the moment I’m looking to take it a game at a time, but I want to do the best that I can.
“I just want to get up and running as soon as possible and hopefully when I get the first one, more and more will quickly follow.
“I had a good record with the Under-23s so I just want to keep doing what I know I can do best."
The Londoner admits that the prospect of teaming up with former Spurs fitness coach McElhone for a second time was key to him coming to Greenock.
He believes that the Ton manager can help get the best out of him.
He said: “Working with Anton again was a big selling point for me. It’s good to work with a familiar face and I know how he goes about things.
“I think he’ll be able to get the best out of me, he knows how I play so I think that he can help me bring out my strengths which is a good thing for me going forward.
“I know how physical the league can be and the quality of players that are on show here, so I’m really looking forward to testing myself against them, it’s what helps improve you as a player."
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