Aberdeen loan star Hayden Coulson is determined to make an impact in the “shop window” of the Scottish top flight.
And the 24-year-old has refused to rule out the possibility of signing a permanent deal with the Dons.
The left-back’s contract with Championship Middlesbrough expires next summer.
With his deal ticking down the former England U18 international aims to raise his profile and move on to the radar of clubs.
He accepts a permanent switch to Pittodrie could also be a possibility, although the defender warned: “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself”.
Coulson is on a season-long loan at Aberdeen.
After spells at Ipswich and Peterborough United last season, he wants to settle down at a club.
Coulson is set to face Kilmarnock at Pittodrie on Saturday.
He said: “This is a chance to show what I can do and if that means staying at Aberdeen or progressing my career elsewhere.
“I just need to crack on.
“Over the past couple of years it has been tough for me personally – With loan moves not working out, either due to injury or managers moving on and things like that.
“I think it’s time to settle down now.
“I’m going into my last year at Middlesbrough, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.
“I want to play this season up here to get up to scratch and show what I can do and then take it from there.
“This is definitely a big platform, especially with the teams in this league.
“There are good teams and it’s a good shop window for clubs to be looking at.”
Determined to rally from Hibs defeat
Gateshead-born Coulson joined Middlesbrough’s youth academy at the age of 13.
He penned a long-term contract in December 2019 tying him to the Championship club until summer 2023.
Coulson was a regular first-team starter for Middlesbrough in the 2019/20 season and racked up 30 appearances that term.
In total, he has made 57 appearances for the Riverside Stadium club, scoring three times.
However, he struggled to command a starting slot last season and was sent out on loan.
He is set to be part of an Aberdeen side desperate to rally at the weekend from a disappointing 3-1 loss at Hibs in their last outing before the international break.
Coulson played a key role in Aberdeen’s early opener at Easter Road.
The left-back delivered the cross for Luis “Duk” Lopes to head in after just four minutes.
It was a dream start, but the game turned when centre-back Liam Scales was controversially sent off near half time.
A penalty was also awarded to Hibs in that contentious incident, which was converted.
The Dons had to wait two weeks for the chance to bounce back as the Hibs defeat came prior to the international break.
Coulson said: “It is always good to help out the team with assists.
“We knew Hibs was going to be a tough game and then the international break came.
“The lads are all positive after a good week’s training and looking forward to getting cracking again.
“You can’t dwell on things too much and you have to look forward to the next one.
“We just need to put the Hibs game behind us.
“We will be out to bounce back with a win.”
Balancing ‘chilling’ and hard work
The two-week international break offered an opportunity for players to get some down time and see family.
Coulson balanced “chilling out” with hard work ahead of a hectic schedule.
Aberdeen have eight league games and a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final to pack in before the Premiership goes into a five-week winter shutdown in November for the World Cup.
He said: “I didn’t get the opportunity to go home.
“It’s a bit of a drive for me to get home, but I don’t mind staying up here for the week.
“Everyone went and saw their families.
“I just chilled out, but obviously continued training from the start of the week to get ready for Saturday.
“There’s a couple of busy weeks coming up with a cup game as well.
“It’s always nice having a bit of chill time before you get cracking again.
“We have been in working hard and working on shape.
“Now we have to do that on Saturday.”
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