ON-LOAN Swindon Town defender Ali Koiki says his desperation to go out and experience first-team football was the primary factor behind his January move to the Energy Check County Ground.

The Burnley left-back has not yet made a senior appearance for the Premier League side, although he did feature on the bench twice over the recent Christmas period as Sean Dyche’s men beat West Ham United before losing away at Arsenal.

Since joining the Lancashire club, 19-year-old Koiki has been restricted to playing regular U23s football and his appetite to improve himself caused him to request an opportunity to go out on loan.

The defender’s first three games in a Town shirt have featured an entertaining draw, a hard-fought away win and a frustrating home loss .

Koike has also collected his first assist, providing a cross that was poked home by striker Marc Richards in the away win at Tranmere Rovers last month.

The variety of League Two football is seen as a positive by Koiki, and he is keen to absorb as much as he can during his stay in Wiltshire.

He said: “Because they have been three very different games, it has been three different learning curves for me – three different experiences. It’s just good to get into it and get a feel for the game at this level.

“I’ve been wanting to play first-team football for quite a while, so as soon as the opportunity came about, I was ready to go and take it.

“Playing in the U23s and being on the bench, you’re just in the middle ground and you want to put your foot down and go and play. That’s why I wanted to go out on loan – to play some games and get some experience.”

Koiki started his life in professional football when joining Croydon-based football academy Kinetic at the age of 14.

While he was there, he played with a young Josh Maja, now at Bordeaux, as well as Ipswich Town’s Miles Kenlock and Charlton Athletic player Joe Aribo.

Two years after joining the academy, the former left-winger joined Burnley’s youth ranks, following a successful trial, and has since been a regular at U23 level.

Now in his third season at the Clarets, Koiki joined Richie Wellens’ Town squad in order to experience the professional game and revealed Burnley boss Dyche gave him a final message before his spell at SN1.

Koiki said: “He (Dyche) rang me and said: ‘Good luck. We’ll be monitoring you, but go and enjoy it and go do your thing because it’s now time for you to grow up as a man’.

“Being here for a few months is good for me because I am coming at the end of the season, so it will be good to see where we can finish at the end and hopefully get higher in the table.”