Stevenage defender Ryan Johnson has thanked all connected at St Albans City for making his loan spell an enjoyable one – but has now set his sights on establishing himself in the Boro team.

The centre-half arrived at Clarence Park in August and scored twice in 13 appearances for the Vanarama National League South outfit.

But although the original length of the loan was until the end of January, Stevenage invoked a clause in the deal and recalled him after the Boxing Day defeat at home to Oxford City.

Since returning to the Lamex he has featured on the bench in three Sky Bet League Two games.

Speaking to the Herts Ad, his goal is now to make his mark at Stevenage but he had nothing but praise for the Saints.

He said: “I really enjoyed my time down there and everyone was really friendly. I do wish them all the best for the rest of the season and I still keep in contact with a couple of the lads anyway.

“I just want to say thank you for everything they did for me.”

The move came about due to a desire for more game time.

“I had a chat with the gaffer [Darren Sarll] in pre-season and told him I just wanted games, whether that was with Stevenage or out on loan somewhere, to build up my experience,” explained the 20-year-old.

“I’m a young lad and I haven’t had much playing time at Stevenage so I ended up on loan at St Albans.

“We were doing really well, hadn’t lost in a few games and I was finding my feet and enjoying playing.

“But then I went away with Northern Ireland and picked up an injury which wasn’t great.

“They had been monitoring my progress while I was on loan and they were pleased with how things were going. I had just come back from the injury and was feeling good, feeling strong.

“So I’m pushing hard just to get into the team [at Stevenage], that’s my sole goal right now. I’ve been on the bench the last few games. I don’t know what will happen next. I’m just focussing on getting in the team and working hard in training.”