New Aberdeen central defender Kristers Tobers believes his aggressive style will be perfectly suited to Scottish football.
The Latvia captain has joined the Dons from Swiss side Grasshoppers on a three-and-a-half year deal.
The 24-year-old is Aberdeen’s second signing of what looks set to be a busy January transfer window following the arrival of attacking midfielder Jeppe Okkels on loan from Preston North End on Monday.
The Dons are understood to have paid around £600,000 to bring the defender to Pittodrie – and Tobers is relishing his new challenge.
In an interview with the club website, he said: “I have always wanted to play in the United Kingdom.
“It was my dream as a player. Everybody said with my playing style that English football could be my type of football.
“From the presentation with the coaching staff and how they introduced me, it felt like this is the right place for me to be.
“Somehow in my heart, I felt this is the right decision for me to go now in the winter period.”
A player who loves to defend
Tobers, who can also play as a defensive midfielder, hopes his whole-hearted approach will win over the Dons support.
He said: “Previously, for the national team, I played quite a few games as a number six.
“And also previously, when I was in Poland (at Lechia Gdansk), I played as a number six as well.
“But now, in the most recent years, I have played as a centre-back.
“I’m a guy who’s going to put the team above everything.
“The most important thing is to win. I’m a passionate guy on the pitch.
“Maybe outside the pitch, I’m really calm and smile a lot but on the pitch, I’m not the easiest guy to play against.
“I would say I’m an aggressive player on the pitch. I like to make tackles and block shots. I just want to do everything for the team to win.”
A natural leader
As captain of his country at the age of 24, Tobers is confident he can bring his leadership qualities to a Dons team who made an impressive start to the season but have hit a poor run of form and are now 10 games without a win ahead of Sunday’s visit of Hearts.
He said: “If the team needs it, I can be also a captain in the dressing room but mostly, I just want to show it on the pitch. I want to lead the team.
“I want to help the players so they feel more comfortable on the pitch. Just to say left, right, front, back, and then just to help it that way more than rather than in the dressing room.
“But if it’s needed also in the dressing room, it’s not a problem for me.”
Scottish football homework
Tobers admitted he doesn’t have a huge knowledge of Scottish football but knows he is joining a big club in Aberdeen.
He said: “I tried to find a lot of (Scottish) games and find some websites where to watch the games but it was always lagging for me, so I could not watch it.
“I think in the next few days, I will go deep into it, I’ll watch the games and analyse how the other teams are playing and our own playing style to get as much information as possible.
“For me and for my family, everybody knew already that Aberdeen is such a big club.
“When my friends were talking about the rumours, everybody said it’s a big club in Scotland and I totally agreed.
“A lot of people were writing to me on Instagram and Facebook about the rumours and it felt nice.
“I can feel that the people are loving football here and it’s also a big responsibility for us to show to them that we can win and then hopefully make them happy.”
Ready to make his debut
Tobers has not played a competitive game since a 1-1 draw against Yverdon Sport on December 7 but hopes he can feature against Hearts on Sunday – if he is granted a work permit in time.
He added: “Yeah, we’ll see.
“I think we need to discuss it with the coaching staff and with everybody about my physical condition because last game I played was in December.
“We had a little bit of a break in Swiss football and there’s now a small pre-season.
“It’s going to be a little bit of discussion but if I’m feeling fit and ready, I’m ready to help the team as much as I need.
“If it is 90 minutes or 10 minutes, I’m ready.”
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