New Zealand international striker Max Mata sat down with Salop for the first time as a Shrewsbury Town player.
With seven senior international appearances to his name, Max completed a move to the Croud Meadow earlier today.
Having joined from Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland, Max has scored 11 goals in 23 appearances so far this season, with the 23-year-old also grabbing one assist.
A well-travelled player, Max played for Wellington Pheonix, Eastern Suburbs AFC and Onehunga Sports in his native New Zealand before moving on to play in Switzerland, Estonia, the United States of America and Ireland.
On signing for Shrewsbury:
“I'm very happy.
“I think it was the fact they came and showed a lot of interest, and they pretty much made me feel comfortable through the process and I was really excited and looking forward to coming to the club.”
On a busy past couple of days:
“Very hectic, it’s a very fast transition for me but really excited, I was lucky to go and see the home stadium yesterday and yeah I’m really excited to get started, to be honest.”
His key aims for the move:
“I think my objective stays the same wherever I go in the world, it’s to score goals.”
On himself as a player:
“I like scoring goals and I think that’s probably it. My physical attributes, I’m not the fastest player in the world but I’m quick, strong, sharp and I like the box.”
On his experience of international football:
“It’s amazing to play for your country of course, it’s probably the pinnacle of your career so I’m very happy to have represented them and I want to continue representing them for a very long time. But, yeah, you play in some pretty cool stadiums and some weird countries as well so it’s a pretty cool feeling.”
On which of his previous playing experiences stands out to him:
“It’s a good question, I think they all stand out to me in their own ways, obviously just coming from Sligo this season was my best year so far away from home so that one’s probably special for that reason.”
On his season so far:
“Definitely my most successful. I felt that I hit the ground running at the start of the season, got a good pre-season and I guess I just kept going.”
On the challenge of League One football:
“Very excited to get started in League One football, I think it was the right place for me to come, I think it’s the right place the player that I am and the person that I am so yeah really excited.”
On getting thrown straight into training:
“[For me it's] mid-season and I’m lucky that I’m fit and healthy and it’s just a matter of breaking into the team, getting to know the lads, getting comfortable and hopefully start scoring goals as soon as possible."
