ELIAS Jelert is excited to finally show Saints fans what he is about after a frustrating start to his loan due to injuries and bizarre transfer gossip.
Jelert, 22, made just his fifth Championship appearance for Saints during the 0-0 draw with Millwall, as injuries have halted his momentum.
The Danish full-back has a finite amount of time to convince Saints to trigger the buy option in his loan move from Turkish giants Galatasaray.
While Jelert is taking things game by game, persistent rumours from Turkey have suggested that Saints had already passed on that clause.
Technical director Johannes Spors had to set the record straight with the defensive prospect, telling him those rumours were wide of the mark.
“I had no idea what was going on. When he came to me, I didn’t know it,” Jelert added, asked about that conversation by the Daily Echo.
“There is a lot of media in Turkey. There’s a lot of good stories but a lot of fake stories as well - I know that well, having been there for a year.
"I don’t take that stuff so much. I’m feeling good now. It was very frustrating, and it was not a very good moment for me to be injured, but it happens.
“I just want to play every game and look forward. It has been frustrating because I wanted to show everybody what I think I am, and I couldn’t do that.
“You can’t do anything about it. I’ve had a setback, now I’m in a good place.”
He added: “If you’re on loan or not, you always want to show how good you are. We will see at some point if I’m going to be here permanently or not.
“I’m just trying to play well every game and take it each game at a time. I really like it here. There’s a good atmosphere in the place, good people.
"I feel like we play good football. We want to play with the ball, and I like that for my style. The city, as well, I really like it. It’s down to earth. I like it.”
Jelert has returned to fitness during a Saints run of five games without a win in the league, and understands the need to gain momentum.
His cross for Cameron Archer helped rescue a point at Birmingham on Monday night, but Jelert is still waiting for his first victory on the south coast.
Saints currently sit seven points adrift of the play-off places, but are more than capable of clawing that back by May with a run of wins.
They travel to Middlesbrough, who have not scored for four games, on Sunday, and Jelert is confident they can get a result at the Riverside.
“I feel like it’s a lot about momentum in this league. If we win the next game, we have confidence, and we can probably go on a run," he concluded.
"We just need to get that momentum and keep working hard. We can’t look too much at their stats, more so our own, but I know what you mean.
"It’s always better to meet a team when they haven’t scored for four games than if they have. I feel like we are going to go there and get a result.
"Hopefully, I can nail a starting spot. It’s the coach's decision. We have had some good chats about how he sees my game and how I can get back in.”
