Ngoo eager to forget his Anfield heartache
NEW Ki l marnock striker Michael Ngoo says he’s desperate to pen a new chapter in his career at Rugby Park after being written off at Liverpool.
The 21-year-old former England youth i nternational, who was released by the Anfield giants after loan spells at Hearts, Yeovil and Walsall, signed a two-year deal with the Ayrshire club yesterday and goes straight into Allan Johnston’s squad for today’s trip to Ross County.
And although he admits it was a wrench to be considered surplus to requirements at the Merseyside Reds after joining as a wide-eyed 16-year- old, Ngoo is confident he can relaunch his reputation north of the border and perhaps even catch Brendan Rodgers’ eye again further down the line.
‘I was here in Scotland before and I enjoyed it, and now that I’m back I want to do the same with Kilmarnock,’ said the 6ft 6in striker. ‘I am looking to bring goals, help the team reach cup finals and compete for the league.
‘I know Gary Locke (Kilmarnock No 2) and he helped with the move as did the manager, the chairman — they all played a part.
‘Obviously it was upsetting to leave Liverpool, but that’s the way football goes. You move on to the next chapter and here I am.
‘Sometimes you have to accept the reality and you move on. As I say, this is a new chapter for me.
‘After coming to Hearts, my career stopped and there were two more loan moves — but now I’m happy at this early stage in my career that I’m ready to get going again at Kilmarnock.
‘I spoke to Brendan Rodgers before I left and everything was fine and, who knows, maybe I could play for him again one day.
‘I’m looking forward to tomorrow and if I get some minutes I will show everyone what I can do.’
Ngoo scored five goals in 16 games for the Tynecastle side after a sixmonth spell during the second half of the season in 2013 and Kilmarnock manager Allan Johnston hopes he can recreate that kind of spark for his team, too.
‘It took a while to sign him, but we are glad to finally get him onboard because we had been working all summer to try and get him in,’ said the manager.
‘We are looking for that kind of young player who can have a big impact and go on to have a big career.
‘He did well at Hearts and we are expecting him to play a big part in our team this year.
‘Michael is the perfect signing for us. He is desperate to play week in, week out, and although he’s not guaranteed to play every week he certainly has a lot of potential and there can’t be many strikers with his presence at that age.
‘I am sure if he starts banging in the goals then there will be a lot of people looking at him.
‘He’s taken a big pay cut to come here. We have a budget and we have to stick to that and that’s probably why the deal took so long. ‘ The boys have made him welcome and he feels he is part of the squad, so he should be a good signing.
‘We still have Lee Miller to come back (from a calf injury) so we have options up front.’
Johnston’s side are still licking their wounds after Wednesday’s 2-0 home defeat to Aberdeen, but today’s hosts Ross County will also be looking to bounce back after a 4-0 hammering at Partick Thistle left them bottom of the table with St Mirren on zero points.
‘They will be desperate to make amends,’ said Johnston, who hopes to recruit at least one more player to his squad before the transfer window closes.
‘It’s not an easy place to play and I am sure they will make it really difficult for us. But we weren’t far away against Aberdeen and there were a lot of encouraging signs.’