Arbroath new boy Kieran Shanks says that he is not afraid to dig in with some hard graft to become a star at Gayfield.
The attacker signed in a three-year-deal from Inverurie Locos in June after impressing in the Highland League.
The 20-year-old, who came through the Aberdeen youth system, opened his account with the Lichties on Saturday in the 3-0 win over Airdrie in the League Cup.
Now the striker is looking to add to that when the Championship season kicks off this weekend against Ayr.
However, having moved up four divisions he knows goals, nor a starting berth, will come easy.
“The hard work comes first and you get your rewards after you put in the performances,” Shanks said.
“I just need to keep putting in the performances and the goals will come.
“Having competition in Michael McKenna, Bobby Linn and Dale Hilson pushes you to perform well every single game as you know you’ve to work hard to stay in the team.
“It’s also about the link-ups with these forwards, hopefully this can stand me in good stead and I can get more goals.”
Standards from coaching staff
Shanks admits that it’s been far from silent during his short stint at Gayfield so far.
“The manager and coaches demand standards constantly, it’s good though as you don’t get a minute’s peace.
“You need to be on top of your game all the time, it’s a big move but I want to see where it takes me.
“I am appreciative of Arbroath for giving me the chance to play in the Championship, I am hoping to come into the club and prove my worth.
“We’ve beat St Mirren and qualified out of the Premier Sports Cup group, we’ve had good results against FC Edinburgh, Cowdenbeath and Airdrieonians on Saturday so it’s important we keep that going now.
Work no stumbling block
The summer signing from Inverurie Locos works as a landscape gardener full-time and revealed that his work is accommodating with his Arbroath commitments.
“I just finish work a wee bit earlier on training nights.
“It’s one of those things that if you want to get to where you want to be then you have to make sacrifices.
“Playing in a level like the Championship has always been my intention, I am reaping the rewards from my spell at Inverurie now.
“I enjoyed my time at Inverurie to an extent, it was never where I wanted to stay for my whole career.
“Going to a level like the Championship was always what I wanted to do and it’s important to keep going and keep improving.
“You never know in football, you don’t know what’s around the corner and when Arbroath got on the phone, I was happy to make the move.”
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