SWINDON Town defender Conor Masterson said he felt “honoured” after a conversation with manager John Sheridan that led to the 22-year-old signing on loan earlier this week.

Masterson was announced as Town’s fourth January signing on Tuesday after putting pen to paper on a deal that would see the Irish under-21 international remain at the County Ground until the end of the season.

Before joining though, the Queens Park Rangers defender said he spoke to friend Mark Travers as well as the Town boss – stating that the chat he had with Sheridan made him feel wanted and was the deciding factor in his move.

Speaking to Swindon Town following the announcement he had signed, Masterson said: “I know a few of the players here, so that helped me to settle in.

“I spoke to the gaffer before I came, and the way they play football really suits me.

“I had a good chat with Mark (Travers) before I came here, and he was really one of the reasons I decided to come to Swindon.

“The way they (Swindon) play football was another one of the reasons I came, I spoke to the gaffer too and he seemed really keen to sign me.

“I felt honoured when he was talking about my attributes and what he thinks I’m good at.

“I was buzzing with that, so I thought: “it can’t go wrong coming to Swindon”.”

Masterson joined Liverpool from Dublin outfit, Lucan United in 2014 and saw his formative football years moulded by Steven Gerrard at Melwood before moving on to sign for QPR in 2019.

The 22-year-old said training near the Reds’ legend every day made him appreciate how committed a player has to be to make it in professional football.

That attitude, Masterson believes, will serve him well as he spends the second half of the season at a struggling Town side in League One.

The defender said: “Playing with top players brings you on, and every day is important. You have to commit to training every day, as well as matches of course.

“Hopefully, I can help the lads here and we can move up the table. I don’t think League One will be much different to what I’m used to, because you have to commit to every game.

“It’s probably going to be a little bit more direct than the Championship, but that doesn’t matter.

“I’m going to deal with it, we’re going to work together as a team and we’ll get the results we need to get us out of the relegation zone and back up to where we should be.”