St Ledger made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in May

Middlesbrough defender Sean St Ledger has revealed a potential return to Premier League football was the catalyst behind his move to the club.

St Ledger, 24, signed on loan from Preston and immediately made his debut in the 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

He told BBC Tees: "I want to play Premier League football and so does everyone in the dressing room.

"It's about getting back to the promised land."

He added: "If you look at the quality here we've got players who are match-winners.

Boro were backed by a 2,000-strong following in South Yorkshire as goals from Jeremie Aliadiere and Adam Johnson added to a Darren Purse own-goal to crown a 3-1 win against the Owls.

St Ledger admitted his surprise at the loyalty, and vocal nature of the support: "I didn't know too much about the support, but it was magnificent, they filled out the whole away stand.

"And the noise they made, it was great and hopefully I can be part of something special here."

Birmingham-born St Ledger has joined Boro on a three-month loan deal with a view to a permanent £4.5m move in January.

He rose to prominence while at Peterborough, and hit the headlines after appearing in the Ron Atkinson documentary which documented the former Manchester United boss' spell at London Road.

His form for Posh earned him a move to Preston for £225,000 and under Alan Irvine the defender made 130 league appearances and earned international recognition with the Republic of Ireland.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version