Jayden Stockley is off the mark after scoring his first competitive goal for Aberdeen, but the forward insists the best is yet to come.
Stockley scored the crucial opening goal within four minutes of his arrival on the pitch against Latvians Ventspils as the Dons netted three times in the final 18 minutes to secure a vital 3-0 first leg lead in the Europa League second qualifying round.
The 22-year-old was pleased to get off the mark after three goals in two friendly appearances and expects more goals to come as he builds a greater understanding with his team-mates.
He said: “As a forward I’m in the position that when things are going well and the team hasn’t got that goal, I’m normally the man they turn to come on and try to change things.
“That’s one of the pluses of being an attacker I guess, I can always be involved in the game and I was lucky on Thursday night I was.
“Coming on to change the game is pressure, but it’s one I am desperate for.
“I want to get on and change things and help the players.
“The way the game was going it on Thursday it was inevitable a goal was going to come at some point.
“It was a great ball in from Jonny Hayes. I couldn’t really miss. He saw me make the run and instinctively put it on a plate for which was nice and we managed to get the second and the third to capitalise on the momentum my goal created.
“It gives me encouragement to know I can get that kind of service at Aberdeen and now I’m building up relationships with players I haven’t played with before, whether it’s Jonny or Niall McGinn, I know to get into the box because they can find me which makes my job a lot easier.
“It’s taken a bit of time to figure out each other’s game but now we have Miles Storey in training and Wes Burns coming on against Ventspils and scoring, not forgetting Lawrence Shankland and Adam Rooney.
“So, it’s a good attack and everyone complements each other really well.
“I hope all of us can add something to make it a successful season.”
Former Bournemouth forward Stockley walked away from the Premier League in England to play regular football in Scotland with Aberdeen.
But he has not given up hope of one day returning to the top flight of English football.
The 22-year-old said: “I firmly believe I will become a better player by joining Aberdeen.
“It’s a very professional set-up at Pittodrie, similar to what it’s like at Bournemouth with the coaching and how far they try to improve players.
“I’ve got aspirations, being only 22, to reach my full potential and I hope I can do that in the Premier League.
“But it was the right time to make this move and coming to Aberdeen was such an exciting prospect when it came up and I grabbed it with both hands.
“I hope I can now pay the manager back because of his interest in me.”
The Englishman does not regret his decision to move on, but knows at this stage of his career his chances of featuring regularly with the Cherries were slim.
He said: “Bournemouth have gone from strength to strength and they are now in a position where they can go and spend that kind of money on players.
“The talent in their squad now is ridiculous when you look back a few years to where the club was.
“But they deserve everything they get because they’ve done everything the right way.
“It’s just crazy money to think just a few years ago they couldn’t really afford much, which is probably why I played.
“Look at Jordan Ibe moving for £15million from Liverpool.
“It’s nice to see them making big moves like that.
“I’m a big believer that, despite clubs making big-money signings, there are more than capable players already in their squads who just need to be given a chance and a run of games and they can be better.
“Even training with the first team takes some players up that extra level and clubs need to look at themselves more and see what they have in their academies because there are some talented youngsters at every club.
“When I started off at Bournemouth I just wouldn’t have believed that one day they’d pay £15million for a player.
“In my early days there we didn’t even know where we’d be training some days. When Eddie Howe came in as manager we could tell he had the desire and ambition about where he wanted the club to be. He didn’t really have a cap on the success he thought he could achieve.”