Michael Hector will not be short of motivation if he gets the nod to make his Shrewsbury Town league debut tomorrow.

A first-ever appearance in League One and the chance to atone for an off-colour performance in the Capital One Cup defeat at Leeds will provide ample incentive for him to fulfil his undoubted potential in the mouth-watering opener at Sheffield United.

But if any extra incentive is required, the unforgettable events of the last three weeks in London may just provide it. Hector was born and raised in Newham, just a short Mo Farah finishing burst away from the Olympic Park in Stratford.

And, while the on-loan Reading defender’s football commitments prevented him from soaking up the atmosphere of the once-in-a-lifetime sporting experience the capital has just experienced, it is no surprise that the heroics from Team GB caught his eye.

“I was born in East London so it was great to see the Olympics there,” said the 20-year-old.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t go and I was a bit disappointed. All my family and friends went to watch a bit of stuff and it was good to see young athletes from Great Britain doing well.”

While Farah, Sir Chris Hoy and Jessica Ennis stole the headlines with their gold standard displays, it was the performance of young sprinter Adam Gemili – the 18-year-old footballer-turned-sprinter who reached the 100m semi-final in his first major senior event – which resonated most with Hector.

“Adam was at Reading when I first joined so it was quite weird watching him,” he added.

“He was a schoolboy who wasn’t in our age group but used to train with us.

“He was so quick back then and everyone used to joke he should be a runner so it was good to see him doing well.

“And he’s only 18 so he still has a long way to go and the only way is up.”

Hector’s focus, however, is simply on tomorrow’s clash and re-capturing his impressive pre-season form after a blip at Leeds in which he conceded a penalty and was at fault for one other goal.

“It was a good experience to play at Elland Road but it wasn’t a great game for me,” added Hector, who is likely to face fresh competition for a starting berth in the heart of the defence from fit-again Darren Jones and Reuben Hazell.

“I made a few mistakes and they all came on the same day.

“I didn’t look at a television on Sunday. I tried to step away from it and have worked hard again since I came back to training.

“I will learn from it and hopefully it won’t happen again.

“Sheffield United is going to be another good challenge tomorrow and hopefully I can show people what I can really do this week.”

Hector is in the early days of what is likely to prove a season-long loan at the Greenhous Meadow.

And, after spending six months at Barnet last season in a similar deal, he welcomes the stability of a long-term move as he continues to learn his trade.

“Sometimes with short loans, you are in and back out again before you know it and meeting new people all the time,” he added.

“With something like this, you can settle in, get to know everybody and get stuck in.”

While tomorrow represents another milestone in the developing career of Hector, it is also a landmark day for his parent club Reading.

They return to the Premier League after an absence of four years from the top flight with a home clash against Stoke.

And Hector will take heart if his long-term employers can re-adjust well to life back amongst the elite after the Royals stormed to Championship title glory last term.

“You can see from Twitter that everybody is buzzing and it’s going to be a big occasion back in the town,” he added.

“I think they will do well because the manager (Brian McDermott) is a winner.

“There are players that I’ve been training with and if they do well in the Premier League, you know you are not that far away.”