Irvine 'can't wait' to get stuck in at St Pauli
Socceroos star Jackson Irvine says he's desperate to start playing again, having been impressed by St Pauli's attacking style in an early pre-season hit-out.
Speaking exclusively to Hamburg media this week, the 28 year-old Australian said he's keen to put his recent injury woes behind him for a fresh start in Germany.
"There's a good energy in the team," Irvine said. "I saw the game against Odense and liked it a lot, especially our attacking play. We created a lot of chances and made lots of runs.
"I can't wait to be involved in it. I hope to be back to full fitness as soon as possible, but we'll have to take each day as it comes."
Since leaving Celtic - where he was an academy product - in 2015, Irvine has had productive stints at Ross County, Burton Albion, Hull City and, most recently, Hibernian.
Now an established Socceroos player, Irvine revealed St Pauli has been on his radar since he travelled to the club with the Celtic academy in pre-season, 2010.
"It was an amazing experience," Irvine said. "I could tell straightaway that the connection between the two clubs was very strong. The atmosphere was incredible.
"Unfortunately, I didn't get off the bench for the game at the Millerntor in 2014. Since those two experiences it's always been a club you keep a keen eye on."
On his decision to trade Scotland for Germany, the versatile box-to-box midfielder said the popular Hamburg club felt like the right destination.
"There's so many different reasons why I felt this was a great fit for me, having experienced the atmosphere before," Irvine said. "To have the opportunity of playing in front of a packed house again, as often as possible, is unbelievably exciting. And having not played in front of fans for a long time now, we can't wait to have everybody back as soon as possible."
Irvine is one of three Australians competing in 2. Bundesliga - alongside John Iredale (Paderborn) and Brandon Borrello (Dynamo Dresden) - and five in the top two division in Germany, with Alou Kuol and Ajdin Hrustic at Bundesliga clubs VFB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively.
"As soon as people back home found out about my move, a lot of them weren't so surprised knowing my personality and the way I like to play football," he said. :We have a lot of Australians in Germany and in the second league as well, so it's a closely followed league in Australia now."
