Monday 8 September 2014 17:54, UK
Stephen Gleeson is looking to make up for lost time after completing a summer switch from MK Dons to Birmingham City.
The midfielder, who has been on the books at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the past, admits he had hoped to make the step up into the second tier a little earlier.
He was, however, happy and performing well in Milton Keynes and delayed taking the plunge.
Birmingham’s offer opened another door and Gleeson is delighted to have stepped through and to have arrived on a stage he feels he is capable of shining on.
The 26-year-old Irishman said in the Birmingham Mail: “I probably spent two years too long in League One. I really wanted to do it (promotion) with MK, but it never happened.
“I felt around January that I knew it was time to move on. When Birmingham came in for me it was a no-brainer.
“I was not too worried about the football side of it. I’ve always felt I would be okay in the Championship, compete and not look out of place.
“The main thing I found when I came was the fitness levels. The lads are tremendously fit. But fitness-wise and football-wise, I’ve got confidence in myself and this was a move that I had to make.”
Gleeson has spent the last five years with MK Dons, having initially joined on loan, and concedes that he has to fight his way up the ladder – with spells at Stockport County and Hereford having also helped to shape his career.
He added: “I made the loan moves and went back to Wolves full of confidence.
“It was unfortunate for me, in a way, that they got promoted to the Premier League (in 2009). They had all that money. If they had stayed in the Championship I think I could have got in there.
“To be fair to Mick McCarthy, he offered me a two-year deal but said I’d be straight back out on loan.
“I knew I needed to go out and play a full season, not just three months and then go back and probably go out on loan again.
“The move to MK really was good. I became a man when I went and played league football regularly. You learn about the game, you grow up.
“Coming here, the moment was right.
“Birmingham is a massive club and I just want to do well for them. I think I can be good for this club as this club can be good for me.”
