Ayina is Loicked in to beat the drop
LOICK AYINA is well up for Dundee United’s relegation scrap – so much so that at times he has to calm his own aggression.
The defender, on loan from Huddersfield Town, is up in Scotland to make an impact and help United fight for top-flight survival.
The teenager got sent off on his United debut for two bookings in the Scottish Cup defeat and admitted his short time at Tannadice has been a learning curve.
Ayina claimed: “It has been such a big experience for me already.
“In my first game, I got a red card but that’s why I came to a club like Dundee United – I just want to learn and improve.
“I just need to relax and maybe sometimes not be so aggressive.
“I was still confident after that.
“Maybe that’s the first thing people should know about me: I will always be confident. You can’t change because you take a red card or a yellow card. You must stay positive.
“If you start to get down or show the other team weakness, then that’s not a good thing.
“The Premiership isn’t easy but I never run away from a challenge. I want to prove I’m good enough.
“Scottish football is a battle, it’s a war.”
Ayina might have come through the ranks of Huddersfield but it was in the French futsal cages that he learned his trade and no-nonsense approach.
He explained: “I started to play in Paris and, although I know Paris and Scotland is not the same football, I always try to show I can play with the same style I did in France.
“When you play in Paris, there are so many talented, technical players so you have to reach those levels.
“It made me confident on the ball and I don’t stress when I’m in possession.”