Harkins can be the man to derail Vale

GARY HARKINS: has already shown his quality in three games

GARY Harkins is determined to build on his early promise in an Athletic shirt.

The 29-year-old Scot joined the club on loan from St Mirren on January 3, and has impressed in substitute appearances at Liverpool and Walsall, and when handed a start in last weekend’s victory over Stevenage.

Playmaker Harkins revels in an attacking midfield role, so he’s simply hoping for more chances to shine as his new club continue their battle to escape the lower reaches of Sky Bet League One.

Greenock-born Harkins said: “Anybody who knows me, knows that I prefer playing in that position, so of course I’m happy whenever I’m involved in that kind of attacking role.

“Being played where you want to play does mean a lot. Oldham are definitely a passing team, so by playing that way that’s when you’re going to get the best out of me.

“Again I’m grateful to the manager just for giving me this opportunity, so I’m determined to pay him back in the best way I can.

“I’ve been really impressed with the team generally so far. We’ve played some good football and ought to have secured better results, especially at Walsall.

“That was a hard one to take because I felt we deserved three points, but at least there’s plenty of positives to take from it.

“We played well, no doubt, we created chances, and to be honest I never felt we looked like we were going to concede.

“Even after we did lose a goal we missed three or four more good chances. We need to take that positivity into the game at Port Vale now. We’ll be confident enough going down there. Recent

performances will see to that.”

Former Celtic schoolboy Harkins is settling in well at Boundary Park. It’s too early for him to say whether he wants to stay at Athletic beyond the end of this season, but he is enjoying his stint here.