Grant Hanley makes his Birmingham City intentions clear in first interview after transfer
Grant Hanley has joined Birmingham City on a six-month contract from Norwich City
Grant Hanley has signed for Birmingham City ‘to play football’ after 18 months of frustration at Championship outfit Norwich City.
The 33-year-old defender has joined Blues on a six-month contract from Norwich, where he has served as captain for the last six years. But Hanley's game time has been limited in the past two seasons, particularly this campaign where he has only made four appearances and played 20 minutes of club football since August.
Six straight starts for Scotland between September and November have kept Hanley ticking over and he now wants to make an impact at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.
Hanley told Blues TV: "I knew January was going to be an opportunity for me to move somewhere and hopefully get some time on the pitch, so as soon as I heard that Birmingham were interested and I spoke to the manager, I was delighted to get it done.
"The team are in a fantastic position in the league and in a couple of cup competitions as well so I’m really looking forward to it. In the last year and a half, where I’ve not played as much as I would have liked, I feel like I’ve got a bit of time to make up on. Ultimately that’s why I’m here, to play football."
Hanley will rival Blues captain Krystian Bielik, Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies for a place in the back-line. The Scot brings a wealth of higher-level experience to Blues and has won the Championship three times.
He added: "What you see is what you get really, I’m maybe a bit of a throwback centre-half. I’m not saying I head it and kick it only, but I enjoy that part of the game and defending, I’m a wee bit no nonsense. I’ve played in teams that have been possession-based so I try and add that into it as well."