"Of course it’s been a frustrating start for me. I’ve wanted to play but it’s the manager’s decision so I have to stick by it, just keep working hard on the training ground and hope things improve for myself. But I’m so pleased for the lads because we worked so hard last season to get up and to see them doing well in the Premier League is excellent. I relish the chance to play Premier League football again. It’s what I want to do, and I’ll keep trying my hardest to make it a reality again.
“Since pre-season we haven’t really spoken about it. All I can do is to keep working hard on the training ground, I want to play first-team football for this club in the Premier League and it’s up to me to convince the manager I should be. Obviously there was a lot of speculation in the summer about whether I would be leaving or staying or whatever, but that’s part and parcel of football - I know that. I’m mature enough just to get on with that, realise I’m here and that my job is to support the squad week in, week out in the Premier League, hope we get the right results and try to push for another chance.”