"I'd block anything, tackle anything and I'll be composed on the ball." That's Bobby Thomas, who sounds like a centre-back Bristol Rovers fans will take a liking to.
That was certainly the case when he made his debut in the blue and white quarters on Saturday. The 21-year-old, a deadline-day loan signing from Burnley, caught the eye with a battling performance capped with a goal 10 minutes from time to earn the Gas a 2-2 draw against Morecambe.
Thomas has been out on loan before, enjoying a stint in League Two with Barrow two seasons ago, but he has not played first-team football since and he did not require much convincing to make the season-long move to Joey Barton's Gas.
"It was the way they play," Thomas replied when asked what it was about Rovers that appealed to him. "They get after games and the manager’s way of playing games is getting on the front foot.
"The stadium and the fans are good and I just couldn’t turn it down, to be honest. It was an opportunity to play come and football.
"You want to do your best for the team and if the manager wants to bring you in, you want to play for a manager who wants you."
Less than 48 hours separated the announcement of Thomas' signing and his debut, with likely starter Lewis Gibson sidelined with an injury concern, but that did not negatively affect his performance levels. He says the task of coming straight into the team was made easier by his teammates.
"It was quite straightforward," he said. "Alf (Alfie Kilgour), Couttsy (Paul Coutts) and a couple of the lads helped me settle in, relax and play my own game. From there, I can kick on and maybe do a little bit more on the ball.
"I’ve done it before at Barrow a couple of seasons ago and I haven’t had the chance since, hopefully now I can show what I can do."
What can Gasheads expect from Thomas over the course of the season?
"I’d block anything, tackle anything and I’ll be composed on the ball and try to start from the back and build up," he said. "I will be as solid as I can be for the team, trying to keep the goals out of the net and stick them in the other side if I can.
"I feel like I’m a threat in the box, but I don’t want to speak too soon and big myself (up)."
He indeed was a threat from set plays on his debut, reacting fastest to smash a loose ball into the net after Morecambe failed to deal with Antony Evans' 80th-minute corner.
Despite the goal, Thomas' first thoughts after the game were the two goals Rovers conceded at the other end, and while his time at the club is just a few days old, that does not mean he is not taking ownership of the team's performances.
That frustration aside, his first experience of the Mem was a memorable one.
"I’m not happy at all, to be honest," he admitted "The first goal, the lad has pulled it out of the bag, to be honest. Absolutely top bins. The second one, we’ve been caught wide open.
"We need to eradicate those goals. We can’t expect to score three goals to win a game. It shouldn’t happen. Other than that, I feel it was a good performance but we need to be more clinical and creative at times.
"It could have been any one of us (that scored) and everyone will just be happy to get a point on the board and not waste 90 minutes of time, but I was happy to score at the Memorial Stadium for the first time.
"It was good. The fans were loud, they were great. It’s nice to play in front of some fans for a change."
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