Roland Idowu confirms that permanent St Mirren stay was always on his mind
By Kyle Gunn
Roland Idowu has outlined the reason behind his permanent move to St Mirren as he says he knew exactly where he wanted to play football this season.
The 23-year-old spent the last campaign on loan in Paisley from EFL League Two side Shrewsbury Town, playing a major part in the Saints' top six finish — scoring a dramatic late winner in the final pre-split game against Ross County.
And he has returned on fine form, scoring a brace in Saturday's 4-0 victory over Dumbarton in their first pre-season game.
He told the Paisley Daily Express: 'I really liked it here last year. I loved playing with the boys, and I had good confidence [from management and my team mates who are all] invested in my career here, so I'm really happy to be back.'
The Dubliner says he has already learned a lot from his time in the Black and White stripes and is keen to show that on the pitch this season.
'I had an up and down season last year,' he said. 'Towards the end I started to get to grips with things, and I think my plan now going into this season is to take my experience and lessons from last season and try and implement them; to have a more confident and positive season.'
The Buddies are currently on a warm-weather pre-season fitness camp in Murcia, Spain. But Idowu says he has been training throughout the break to maintain his form.
'Obviously, if you're away, you're still doing that stuff,' he said. 'I was back in Dublin training again.
'I feel like I always do look after myself fitness-wise. Also, it wasn't as long a break, so there wasn't as long a time to lose fitness really.'
Idowu is just one of six permanent deals to be added to Stephen Robinson's squad this summer so far, with fellow Irishman Killian Phillips also making his loan deal permanent in Paisley.
The new faces in the squad are Liam Donnelly, Jayden Richardson, Ryan Mullen, and Richard King, who have come in to strengthen areas.
Idowu has thrown his support behind all his new teammates that have joined, as he says that everyone settles in at different speeds, as he explained his own journey.
He said: 'Everyone's different. People take longer to settle and for some people, it takes just one game, one session.
So, that's definitely something that needs to be more taken into account.
'I was playing in Ireland before and I had a short stint at Shrewsbury.
'So, I hadn't really been a player for long enough to be up to speed with fitness and technical stuff [before I came here].
'Well, I think now I've caught up and feel physically good and technically good and confident on the pitch.'
Robbo's men will take on MK Dons on Saturday to wrap up their week-long stint in the heat.
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