St Johnstone loanee Dare Olunfunwa insists he is focused on Hamilton Accies and not trying to impress whoever the new gaffer is at McDiarmid Park.
The 23-year-old arrived at New Douglas Park earlier this month on a short-term deal until January, having been signed at Saints last year by Steven MacLean and then falling out of favour with his successor Craig Levein.
Levein was sacked shortly after Olunfunwa made his switch to Accies and a bid to prise Scott Brown away from Ayr to be the new boss failed to come to fruition this week.
But the Englishman will be getting his head down to concentrate on making an impact in Lanarkshire and not the uncertainty at McDiarmid Park.
The defender said: “I have not even thought about what is happening at St Johnstone right now, I’m just focused on Hamilton at the moment. I’m a Hamilton player until January so that is what I want to focus on.
“But every time you go out on the pitch, you are trying to do the best you can because anybody could be watching your game. If I can perform well for Hamilton, whatever happens after that happens.”
Olufunwa hopes his desire to win and keep clean sheets can be the perfect combo against Partick Thistle today.
He made his first start in last weekend’s battling 3-3 draw at Raith Rovers, a game where Accies led 1-0 and then came back from 3-1 down to level in the last minute.
It was Hamilton’s second draw in their last three games, in between a 3-0 defeat at Livingston, but Olunfunwa is hoping to help the club get back to winning ways against the Jags.
He said: “I’m a very competitive person. I love to win. If you don’t concede you definitely aren’t going to lose games so keeping a clean sheet is a big thing for me and something I want to help the team get.
“Partick will be another tough game. Every team is quite strong in the league, whether they are top or bottom of the table.
“We know what we can do so we will go into the game with confidence of getting a result.
“We know how big three points is in this league, especially at this point of the season because it can take you a few places up the table. We’ll be going there for the win, that’s for sure.
“The longer I am here, the more I can see the relationships building between players and how they like to play. Building on that will help us be a bit more disciplined at the back and keep a tighter ship so, if we do go on top in games, teams won’t be able to come back at us because we can deal with whatever they are throwing at us.”
A consistent run of games is something the former Liverpool and Southampton youth player didn’t manage at Saints, but he is hoping Accies can provide the platform for him to do that.
And he insists that will see Accies get the best out of him and help him steer clear of injuries.
He explained: “I’m hoping to get a run in the team, especially with the season I had last year. The change of manager [at St Johnstone] limited my game time and it was a bit inconsistent. I’d be in for one game and out then out for a while.
“Coming to Hamilton, my aim is to be back playing consistently. When you are playing week in, week out that’s when you start to play your best football, so that’s my plan here.
“My last injury was at the back end of last season and I was out for six weeks with an ankle injury. At Liverpool, I injured the other side of it.
“It has been frustrating but what I have experienced is that when I am playing more regularly, I’m less likely to get injured.
“When you get a run of games, your body adapts to playing regularly. But if you get thrown in and out, you tend to break down, so consistent football is a big thing.”
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