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08:12 GMT, Monday, 21 July 2008 09:12 UK

Kitson vows to help Stoke stay up

Dave Kitson

Stoke City's new record signing Dave Kitson is confident he can score the goals to keep the Potters in the Premier League this season.

The 28-year-old striker arrived at the Britannia Stadium on a three-year deal for £5.5m from Reading on Friday.

"If I get the service then I can score goals," Kitson told BBC Radio Stoke.

"If the manager can get the players he is talking about bringing in then it will be fantastic. We have to use being an unknown quantity to our advantage."

Having spent five years with the Royals, who were relegated to the Championship last season, Kitson said the lure of Premier League football with the Potters was too big to resist.

"It was no secret that other clubs were in for me," said Kitson.

"It would have been hugely disrespectful to Reading for me to leave there and then sit on the bench somewhere all next season.

"It's there for the taking, we just have to grasp it"
Dave Kitson

"I've come to a team that have told me I will get 38 games of Premier League football."

The former Cambridge United man also said that meeting manager Tony Pulis was a big factor in his move to the Potteries.

"I came to Stoke and Tony made it clear that I was his number one target and he was going to do everything he could to get me," he said.

And Kitson, who spent two years in the top flight with Reading, had some advice for his new team-mates as they prepare for their first season as a Premier League club.

606: DEBATE
Can Kitson score the goals to help Stoke survive?

"Don't be intimidated, there's nothing to be frightened of because you're just playing against 11 different people that you haven't played before. They're still just people," he added.

"If you go out there and are in awe then you'll get turned over. We have to use being an unknown quantity to our advantage. It's there for the taking, we just have to grasp it."



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Related to this story:

Stoke seal £5.5m Kitson transfer (18 Jul 08 |  Stoke )

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