New signing Ricky Sappleton has set his sights on firing AFC Telford United to promotion – and muscling his way into the first team picture at Leicester City.

The 19-year-old forward has joined on loan from the Foxes for the rest of the season and made his debut in Monday’s 2-0 victory at Hinckley United.

Now he wants to score the goals that will boost Telford’s Blue Square North prospects and get Leicester boss Nigel Pearson to take notice at the same time.

It is the Jamaican under-20 international’s third loan move of the season, having also had brief spells in League Two with Bournemouth and in the Blue Square Premier with Oxford.

“I just want to get some games and hopefully get some goals to push us up the table,” he declared.

“The main aim has to be to help the team get promotion.

“The strikers are doing so well at Leicester that it’s been hard for me – Matty Fryatt scores quite a few goals and Steve Howard’s getting his fair share as well.

“Hopefully I can get some experience here, get some games and some goals, and that should strand me in good stead when I go back.”

Sappleton only met his new team-mates for the first time shortly before kick-off at Hinckley, though he had been due to join the squad at York for last Saturday’s FA Trophy semi-final.

The towering striker was not eligible to play in that game but had been invited to take part in the pre-match warm-up in an exercise intended to introduce him to his new team-mates.

But he revealed: “I was on the way to Derby to meet up with the team bus and my car broke down so I couldn’t make it.

“The AA man turned up but he couldn’t get the car started, and Larry Chambers (the assistant manager) had a word with him to see if there was anything they could do, but there wasn’t.

“I had to get the car towed home so I never made it to the game.”