The smile on his face told the story after Roy Krishna signed a two-year contract with the Wellington Phoenix on Thursday.
Krishna, 26, has been at the club since January as an injury replacement for Paul Ifill and he is delighted that head coach Ernie Merrick thinks enough of him to give him a new deal.
“I-ve always dreamed of being a professional footballer and now that dream has come true,” a beaming Krishna said at training.
“There is still a lot of work for me to do but with Ernie to guide me I-m confident I can do a job for him.”
Krishna spent a month on trial with the Phoenix in 2010 but said former coach Ricki Herbert told him he was looking for a target man, which he definitely isn-t.
In the controversial 2-2 draw at Melbourne Heart on Sunday Krishna revelled in a wide role and scored his first Phoenix goal early in the game.
“If you are a striker you expect to score goals and that one has taken some of the pressure off me,” Krishna said.
So where does he prefer to play? Out wide or in the centre?
“I don-t care where I play so long as I am in the team,” he says with a smile.
“My preference is in the centre, but the system we are playing means I can use my speed out wide to get behind the defence.
“I guess I get more room out there than I would down the middle.”
Krishna said stepping up from the ASB Championship to the A-League wasn-t easy on his body, but is starting to adapt to the training regime.
“My body wasn-t used to training every day but I-m now getting used to it,” he said.
“I want to show what I can do in the next four games and then have a full pre-season to get in really good shape.
“Not only will that help my fitness but it will get me used to combinations with the other boys.
“They know how I play but I am still coming to terms with the way they do.
“The first priority though is to help the boys win the next four games and get into the finals.”
The Wellington Phoenix travel across the Tasman to face the Newcastle Jets in round 24 of the Hyundai A-League on Saturday 22 March. Kick-off at Hunter Stadium is at 7.30pm NZT.
