Gabriel Osho spoke to www.rochdaleafc.co.uk to reflect on his first few days at the Club…
The defender joined Dale on loan from Luton Town on Thursday before meeting up with the squad on Friday, ahead of the side’s League One fixture against Gillingham on Saturday, where he went straight into the starting eleven.
“It has been good so far,” said Gabe.
“Coming in on the Friday and then playing on the Saturday was a quick turnaround but everyone has been great and everyone has helped me settle in, so I’m just happy to be here.
“The coaching staff and the players filled me in on how the team play, the philosophies and what the opposition were going to be like. Everyone showed me the best they could before the game to help me, which was good.”
The 22-year-old was pleased to start the match at the weekend and says while it was disappointing to concede so late, he has taken plenty from it.
“I always like to get in and play as soon as I can, because I think it helps me settle in and lets the lads know that I can trust them and that they can trust me. It helps with building relationships on the pitch, so it was good to play as soon as I came in.
"I think we played well on Saturday, especially whenever we had the ball. It was a tough, physical game but it was literally two moments from set-pieces [that we conceded from] and that one in the last minute was a killer. It was really disappointing but we’ve just got to dust ourselves down and go again against Oxford.
“The style of play suits me. The manager said he likes the centre-backs and the goalkeeper to play and I saw that on the pitch on Saturday - everyone really buys into that.”
He says as soon as heard Dale were interested in taking him on loan, he was keen to make the move to the Crown Oil Arena.
“As soon as I heard about it, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me, so I was really happy that the deal got done. I’ve seen young players come to the Club and do well, so it seemed like a good place to come. It’s a good fit for me.”
Osho started his career at Reading, coming through the Academy system there before joining Luton Town on a permanent basis in November.
He looks back on his time at the Royals fondly, and says he knows fellow Dale defender Paul McShane, who was also there at the same time as him.
“Reading is a great Academy, with great coaches and great people, and you can really see that with the number of players that they produce. It’s a really, really good place to learn your trade. It was weird leaving initially but I had to do what had to be done for my career.
“I was at Reading with Paul and he’s helped me settle in well here. He has always been a leader wherever he has been, so I remember when I was 16 or 17 years old and he was leading the team at Reading. He helped me there and hopefully he can do the same here.”
Watch Gabriel’s interview in full on iFollow.