New Rotherham United recruit Kieran Sadlier insists the hard work has only just begun, as he prepares for his first season of Sky Bet Championship action having put pen-to-paper on a deal until June 2022 at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Sadlier, who earned his stripes in the League of Ireland Premier Division with Cork City and Sligo Rovers, before returning to English football with Doncaster Rovers will now be looking to cement himself as a second tier player following confirmation of his signing on Tuesday afternoon.
The 25-year-old winger is Paul Warne’s second summer recruit ahead of the upcoming campaign and Sadlier stresses he’s determined to make a big impact for his new side.
“I’m really excited, this is something I’ve worked really hard to do - coming up from Ireland, to Doncaster, to League One and now I’m in the Championship,” Sadlier told www.themillers.co.uk.
“I’m very proud of that but the hard work doesn’t stop, I want to go all the way and make a real impact in the Championship with Rotherham United.”
The newest Millers player admitted that the effort put into securing his signature by Paul Warne and his recruitment team was a key factor in his decision to make the short journey down the M18 to sign for the Millers, rather than pursue offers elsewhere.
Speaking ahead of his first training session with his new club, Sadlier stressed that it was that same desire to secure his services that eventually led to him signing on the dotted line with Rotherham United.
“There was interest [from elsewhere]. I just feel like when I spoke to Warney and the staff they made me feel really welcome and that they wanted me."
“They told me I suit the way they want to play and obviously playing in the Championship is something I aspire to do next and I back myself to do that. I think I can fit in really well here.”
“We had a Zoom call and they put a whole presentation together which I was really impressed with. I think that was a big part of me coming to sign here, a lot of thought went into it and I fit perfectly to the way I play and what I can do.”
Sadlier enjoyed a prolific campaign at the Keepmoat Stadium last term, topping the club’s goalscoring charts in Sky Bet League One and admits that whilst he was pleased with his season on a personal level, the winger still believes there is still more to come from him ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
“I had half a season there [at Doncaster] before, and then going into my first full season I just thought I really wanted to make an impact and score as many goals and make as many assists as possible,” said Sadlier.
“With 10 games to go I was very pleased with my stats, but I want to improve as well in terms of different sides of my game. I think I did that side of the game and learnt a lot.”
“On a personal assessment I was very pleased with myself, but I don’t want to stop there. I’m a player that always wants to work hard and learn new things from different managers and players. I hope I can do that here.
“I’m a very forward-thinking player, I like to get shots off and I’m not scared to take a chance. I like to get in the box and score goals, I’d say I’m a goal-scoring winger who loves getting goals and assisting, that’s something I really want to do here.”