Toppie's Time

TOPPIE Obadeyi believes his loan to Argyle will be a win-win move.

The 24-year-old attacker made his Pilgrims’ debut as a second-half substitute in the goal-less FA Cup first-round draw at Lincoln, less than 48 hours after joining from League 2 rivals Bury.

The former Bolton trainee showed some nice touches as he helped orchestrate a strong Argyle finish to the match, going close on a couple of occasions with long-range shots.

“As soon as I came on, I tried to influence the game in a positive way,” he said. “Lincoln came out for the second half and did push us but, towards the end of the game, we had enough chances to maybe nick the game.”

Toppie has played for Argyle manager John Sheridan before, at Chesterfield, where Pilgrim Neal Trotman was a team-mate, and he had little hesitation in answering John’s call again.

“I know the manager,” said Toppie. “I know the way he likes to play; I know how he likes to work. I thought ‘Why not?’ Get some games and get my career back on track; get some goals, get some wins. I know the team’s doing well at the moment, so, hopefully, I can add to that, give a little bit of a positive push to team.”

“I’m a player who likes to get at the back four, to get up the pitch as much as I can, and try to get some goals at the same time.”

Toppie has also spent time on loan at Swindon, Shrewsbury and Rochdale, so he is not unfamiliar with the experience of walking into an unfamiliar environment and trying to quickly slot in.

He said: “As the days go, you start to get used to everybody; you start to know everyone’s game and they know my game.

“It’s happened to me before – new team, new faces – but I’m used to it now. As training goes on, they see my game and I see how everyone else plays and, hopefully, a lot of positives come out of it.”

Toppie spent last season playing in Portugal’s Primeira Liga for Rio Ave but believes his future is back on this side of the Channel.

He said: “It was a good experience for me, playing in the top league against the big boys: Benfica, Porto, Lisbon. It was difficult at first, but I settled quite quickly.

“I had a chance to stay out there, but I wanted to come back. I wasn’t really playing as much as I would have liked towards the end of the season and I felt like I wanted to come home and kick-start my career in England.

“This is a massive, massive time for me – I know that. I need to start playing again, and take it one step at a time to get back where I need to be. Hopefully, this can be a stepping-stone for me and hopefully I can help the club at the same time.”