Former Celtic striker Patryk Klimala is confident he can rediscover his best form and deliver for Sydney FC.
Klimala joins the A-League Men club on loan for the upcoming season after just four appearances in the reserves for top-tier Polish club Slask Wroclaw.
After a trophy-laden stint with Scottish Premiership giants Celtic across the 2020/21 season, the former Polish youth international had a brief shift at Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls before moving across competitions and eventually landing back in Poland last year.
The 26-year-old admits he views his move to the Sky Blues as a career reboot, with the club having the option to buy.
"I think it is (a reboot) a little bit but it's not like I came here and I have a big head now and I'm going to chill out here," Klimala said on Tuesday.
"I came here to hard work, to do everything that's possible.
"The last year and a half was a bad time for me, and I know that, but I was unlucky, and sometimes it is what it is.
"You're a hard worker, you put everything in what you have, but it just didn't work.
"Now I'm confident that this time will be mine finally.
"Everybody expect goals from from the strikers, and also me, I put the biggest pressure on myself, and I'm the biggest hater of myself."
Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay was just as bullish about Klimala's potential.
"I know the media and everyone else likes to look at the data and all that type of stuff," Talay said.
"We always look at players, what attributes they have and what they bring to the team, and we believe he's got some fantastic attributes to help the team to have the success that we want."
Klimala will wear former Red Bulls teammate Fabio Gomes' No.9 jersey after the on-loan Brazilian left the club at the end of the 2023/24 season.
"That's actually funny because we used to have good contact with Fabio," Klimala said.
"I texted Fabio and asked him about the club, like three weeks ago, but he didn't respond."
With Sydney's first AFC Champions League match against Hong Kong club Eastern FC around the corner, Talay expects the club will be able to sign a much-needed defender despite the closure of the European transfer window.
"It would have been great to have the sixth foreigner, but we can only bring an Australian player," Talay said.
"The window in Australia is going to close soon so something needs to be done in the next few days."
