St Johnstone striker Chris Iwelumo hopes to take the Scottish Premiership by storm after fulfilling his ambition to join a top flight club.
Sixteen years after leaving Scottish football behind, Iwelumo is back north of the border after signing a deal until the end of the season at McDiarmid Park and is ready and raring to get the latest chapter of his career going.
Many fans will immediately think of THAT miss while playing for Scotland against Norway in a World Cup qualifier in 2008, but the 35-year-old target man is keen to make a name for himself for the right reasons during his time at Perth.
“I got a call from my agent, he had spoken with the gaffer and I just came up and met him,” said Iwelumo, explaining how the move from Scunthorpe United came about. “We had a good chat, football talk, and it came from there.
“The club speaks for itself really St Johnstone are doing well, flying high, so who wouldn’t want to be a part of it?
“It’s a chance to play in the Scottish Premiership as well.
“I’m Scottish born and bred and it’s a league I’ve always followed so I’m delighted to be here. It would be strange never to have played in it.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me. I’m coming into a team that’s doing really well and playing some nice stuff, and hopefully my presence will help.
“I’ve scored goals everywhere I’ve gone, so hopefully that will continue.”
Iwelumo left St Mirren, where he came through the youth system, in 1998 after four seasons and made the switch to Danish club Aarhus at the age of just 19 becoming one of the first players to move on a Bosman.
It is a completely different landscape the striker is coming back to, but Iwelumo reckons the standard is still high.
“Someone just reminded me it was 16 years ago since I played up here and I didn’t know how to take it!” he joked.
“But I’m just excited and the games we’ve got coming up are exciting it’s just about taking it head on and taking the positives out of it.
“I think the boys are doing well. No matter what teams are in the league they’ve performed against the best of them so bring them on.
“Games against Dundee United and the League Cup semi-final are coming up and I would love to be part of both games.
“That’s what I’m here to do is play football and I’m available for selection so hopefully the gaffer asks the question.
“People are asking me what did the gaffer say to get me here but he never had to sell the club at all.
“It’s just one of those funny things in football, you don’t know what’s around the corner for you. I’ve learned in a long career that you just kind of go with the flow.
“I’ve been promoted four times and won the LDV cup at Wembley, so I’ve had nice experiences and done some good things. I’d love to add some more.”
Iwelumo insists he has joined Saints to complement 20-goal striker Stevie May, not replace him, and the forward cannot wait to partner the club’s top scorer.
Many see Iwelumo as the perfect foil to May’s style of play and recalls similar ‘big man little man’ partnerships with Jamie Cureton at Colchester and Leon Knight at Brighton which have paid off handsomely in the past.
“Those worked really well, so I’m looking forward to it,” he continued.
“Stevie can do all my running for me. But he’s on fire, who doesn’t know about him?
“It’s one of the chats I had with the gaffer and people talk about replacements and all that but we want him to stay here and I’m sure he will.
“I’m looking forward to playing with him. He’s been linked with the Scotland squad but I think he’ll be linked with all sorts of things.
“I think just listening to the gaffer there, Stevie is one of those players who believes that no matter where he gets the ball on the pitch he thinks he can score, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
“He’s making a name for himself down in England and I don’t think he’ll be too shy of offers coming from south of the border as well, so I think the chairman is going to have a hard time of keeping him here.
“But I’ve had a chat with the chairman and everyone wants everyone to stay and we’ve got a really good chance to achieve something very special over the next couple of months.”