In Conversation: Ibrahim Olutade

By Josh Cole

From a rival to a Blue. Get to know our new striker, Ibrahim Olutade, as he talks through how he is finding it at Margate so far!

Being at Folkestone Invicta, Olutade came here as part of the opposition but says he has always looked at The ‘Gate as a “great club”. “I’m very happy to be here, I’ve always seen Margate as a great club every time I’ve been on the opposition side, and since I’ve come in, everyone has been so welcoming, which is always nice when you join a new team!”

Ibz comes in with a lot of experience, from playing in the National League South for both Maidstone and Tonbridge, and the striker says he took a lot from being in that environment. “I’ve learnt a lot from my time in that league, an example is the tempo, games are played at a quicker speed, so you must make up your mind a lot quicker when you have the ball. It’s improved my game. When you’re playing with ex-pros you’re naturally going to improve and gain experience playing with them week in week out. I was someone who always asked questions as I wanted to improve myself the best I can!”

When joining a new team, the first thing is to establish a relationship with the coaching team, and Ibrahim gives us an insight on what the atmosphere is like behind the dressing room door. “It’s been good, everyone gets along in the changing room. Ben, Adam, and Elliot have been great with us, their player management and the way they provide information on what they expect from us on the pitch has been good. They work well together and I’m sure it’ll benefit us a lot to reach our goals this season!”

Developing a strike partnership is key, and so far in pre-season, Ibz has played alongside Lukas Franzen-Jones, James Bessey-Saldanha and Vinnie Bowman, so I asked how he is finding playing alongside his fellow forwards. “It’s a joy to play with them, everyone has their own qualities that they bring to the team. We are still getting used to how each other play but I’m sure it’ll come! It’s always good have friendly competition. We’ve been pushing each other in training and in games to make sure we are all ready for the start of the season!”

Finally, the striker has a few words to ‘Gate fans as we approach the start of the season! “I just want to thank you all for welcoming me to the club. I can’t wait to meet many more of you. There’ll be highs and lows but hopefully many highs. I’ll give my all for this club and I hope to score lots of goals in front of you all!”

Olutade is sponsored by Thomas Empson home and away!

UP THE ‘GATE

More news