Troy Deeney has vowed to enjoy life after realising his dream and signing for Birmingham.
The Blues fan has penned a two-year deal after leaving Watford following 11 years at Vicarage Road.
He scored 139 goals in 419 appearances for the Hornets but his final months were wrecked by an Achilles injury he suffered in February.
The 33-year-old has been given a different perspective amid the Covid-19 pandemic and his injury struggles and wants to relish his time at St Andrew’s.
He said: “I’m going to go a little bit deep here. I’m just tired of everyone being f****** miserable. You look on social media, everywhere, Covid has been really terrible but everything is negative.
“Why not come back and enjoy myself, be at a place where I’m loved and have some pressure?
“It’s the good pressure. All my pressure is to score goals. My pressure isn’t to build a stand before next Friday. Get ready, enjoy yourself and have a good time. I’m going to have fun with it but I’m also very serious about winning games.
“The move is always something I thought and joked about but I always tried to play it down due to family reasons. I never left here. I’d go into Asda with my mum and people will be going ‘when are you signing for Blues mate?’ I’d get more pressure than I do in Watford.
“This moved really quickly, from Thursday or Friday it went fast. I had some big clubs offer different options, in and out of the country, but this felt right for me and the club.”
Deeney had been out since suffering his Achilles injury at St Andrew’s when playing Coventry before he returned for two final substitute appearances for Watford this season.
But he knew the writing was on the wall after failing to feature in their Carabao Cup game against Crystal Palace last month.
He said: “It was perfect for both teams, if Blues came in a week before I probably would have said no because I was still happy I might get a game in the Carabao Cup, score and it would re-spark the Watford career.
“When that didn’t happen it was time to reassess and have a conversation with the club about moving forward.
“It (being sidelined) has not been very enjoyable. I played Coventry at St Andrew’s and did my Achilles and my calf in that game. I knew I did something wrong at that moment, I went and saw the specialist and he said ‘look, you’re lucky this didn’t end your career’.
“It gave me a sign of what could be and a rejuvenated look at life. I have smashed the gym, worked on my body and my fitness. I’m just trying to enjoy myself.
“Leaving Watford was very emotional. All good things come to an end, I was told that as a kid.”
Deeney could make his Birmingham debut against Derby at St Andrew’s next Friday and the former Walsall youngster’s signing has proved so popular the club’s shop has run out of E’s and have been unable to print his name on shirts.
He added: “Friends of mine were not too happy. I haven’t got a kit for the kids yet. I hope they are going to have everything sorted. First world problems. I’ll play with no name and have a tear up.”
