MICHAEL Thalassitis wants to stay at Hayes & Yeading for the rest of the season and score the goals which fire his adopted side to safety.
The Cyprus U19 international striker signed on a month's loan from Stevenage a fortnight ago and became an instant hit with his new club, scoring two goals in his first two games.
And although Thalassitis drew a blank in the last two games, he is convinced staying with United for now is best for his progress.
He said: “I just want to be playing games and scoring goals really, and it's better to be doing that for a professional club like Hayes & Yeading than for Stevenage's reserves.
“Neither the guys here or at Stevenage have said anything about extending my loan yet, but I'd love to stay here for the rest of the season and help the club stay up.
“I have seen enough here already to know that we can do it. You can see from the passion and intensity in training how much the guys want to stay in this division.”
All of which is news to the ears of Tom Collins, who played in the same Stevenage youth system as Thalassitis before joining Hayes & Yeading last summer.
Collins had not long before signed a short-term pro contract with the League One side before joining Bashir's men, and despite hitting the goal-trial earlier this season, has been more accustomed to the bench lately.
He said: “I remember Michael well from when we were both at Stevenage, and he is a talented striker. He got off to a real flier for us, and I'm sure he will keep scoring goals at this level, so I hope he will stay.
“I've not been getting as much game time as I would like recently, but hopefully if I can get on the pitch more I can start striking up a decent partnership with Michael.”
