Blackpool FC: Karamoko Dembele outlines his targets with the Seasiders as he discusses the difficulties his journey

The winger, who first came to prominence as a 13-year-old with Celtic, has joined the Seasiders on a season-long loan from Brest.

Dembele states Neil Critchley played a big part in bringing him to Bloomfield Road, and hopes he will have the opportunity to show people what he is about at the current stage of his career.

“The problem is people still judge me from when I was younger and stuff, but I’ve forgotten about that and I just want to prove myself where it matters,” he said.

“I want to be able to do it in a first team environment.

“I was living alone in France, so I’ve matured as a person and as a player- I’m always learning.

“Everyone has their own journey. Mine has been difficult because I’ve been spoken about since I was young, and haven’t had that opportunity to play.

“All in good time everything will happen the way it’s supposed to.

“When I first got the call from Critch (Neil Critchley) I could tell that he was a good person- which is important to me.

“I hope he’ll give me the opportunity to show him what I can do.

“He was probably the main factor behind the move, because he seems like a top manager, I’ve heard good things about.”

Dembele is set to make his debut for the Seasiders in this weekend’s game against Wigan Athletic.

“It’s been a long week with travelling and stuff, but I trained yesterday and I enjoyed it, so that’s the main thing,” he added.

“I’m just happy to be here and hopefully I can get some playing time, because that’s what I need most.

“To develop as a player you need to be playing regularly.

“I’m hoping I can get the best out of myself with this move.

“I just want to enjoy football this season and naturally things will come.

“When you don’t play games you’re just training a lot, and that can get repetitive, but games are exciting, so being able to enjoy that experience would be important for me.

“I’ve heard the fans are quite crazy, I’m looking forward to playing in front of them.”