Loanee Dan Alfei wants his stint at One Call Stadium to be as successful as his previous loan spells in Sky Bet League Two.
The Swansea City man put pen-to-paper on a loan deal until the end of the season yesterday and he is aiming to replicate the good form which he enjoyed at Northampton Town and Portsmouth in recent years.
“I’ve had a couple of spells in the last two seasons now where I’ve played in League Two so I enjoy playing here. It’s an opportunity at a different club now, but I’m looking forward to getting started and getting some games.
“They (the loan spells) got me my game time that I needed and put me in the shop window. [It was] something I needed to do, especially with my age and experience and learning off [of] different players and different clubs. They were successful for me and I’m hoping this one is too.”
The 23-year-old full-back progressed through the academy at the Premier League club and now wants to help the Stags cement a place as high up the table as possible in Sky Bet League Two.
“The team’s doing well, the club’s doing well as a whole and they’re looking to further themselves, especially by being in the play-offs.
“Now they’re here they want to kick on and see how far they can take it and for me to be playing in the league and also to be at a club who could easily be challenging for promotion is great for me personally.
“I need to be playing at a decent club, which I feel Mansfield are. It didn’t take me long to decide I wanted to come here and play, so it was relatively easy."
The former Welsh-under 21 international continued: “Obviously I set personal targets in terms of assists and clean sheets and things like that, but it’ll be an overall target of getting points and staying as high as we can in the table."
Alfei admitted his frustration in his attempts to break into the first team at the Welsh club, but he’s hoping to show his best attributes in the remaining 17 games of our Sky Bet League Two campaign.
“I haven’t been playing as much as I’d like to [at Swansea]. Obviously with a club like Swansea it’s hard to get into the side and get a run in the team, so it’s been quite frustrating.
“It’s a tough environment to be pushing for your place and with a lot of players coming in and a lot of movement, especially with managers and things like that, it’s hard to push yourself into the ‘light’ there. The important thing for me this season is getting out and playing football," Alfei said.
“As a full-back, I think you need that in your arsenal now so I like to get forward and I see myself as quite an attacking full-back. Obviously defending is the main thing as a defender but I’d like to think I can get some assists and maybe add some goals.”
You can watch Alfei's first interview with the club on Stags Player.
