Bristol City loan signing Sam Pearson hopes attacking versatility can see him score game time at Caley Thistle.
The 20-year-old moved from the English Championship to Scotland’s second-tier on Friday and was handed his debut from the bench in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Dunfermline Athletic.
The Wales under-21 international has been kicking his heels at Ashton Gate, having yet to feature for City this season after making five appearances last term.
A call from his agent with the chance to join the Highlanders until May was too good an opportunity to turn down.
And Pearson hopes the variety of attacking positions he can play in will help ensure he gets minutes on the pitch under head coach Billy Dodds.
He said: “As long as I’m playing I will do a job anywhere.
“I am more of a winger, I like to dribble and get past the man. I can play right wing-back, striker, left wing-back, anywhere. Wherever the manager wants me to play, I’ll do my best.”
Warm welcome in the Highlands
Pearson explained as soon as the deal was done, he was online to learn all about his team-mates for the next few months.
He said: “I haven’t been involved in the first-team at Bristol City for a while and I thought I needed a change of scenery, to see new faces and play first-team football.
“On Thursday morning, I got a text from my agent and he said Inverness were interested.
“A few hours later I said, ‘yeah’. The next day I was on a flight up, I met everyone and they welcomed me.
“That night I was on YouTube searching, seeing how they played, how good they are and opponents, as well as looking at the table.”
Pearson eager to help title push
And the lure of joining a side pushing for promotion, three points off top spot right now, was the driving force in Pearson’s decision to opt for Caley Thistle.
He added: “The main reason I have come here is to join a side fighting for promotion and the title. That will be good for me personally, if we get promoted and win the title.
“It was disappointing with the result on Saturday, but when we play next weekend (at Kilmarnock), hopefully we can get the win.
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ICTFC Sub: Sam Pearson makes his debut as he replaces Cameron Harper. pic.twitter.com/4T1sueonAk
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) January 22, 2022
“I think (against Dunfermline) we got pushed back a lot and were too defensive. We couldn’t do that all half, we needed to get up the pitch and keep the ball.
“That was the most frustrating thing when I came on.”
