ALMOST a decade has passed since Bart Ogbeche played in the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

A career which promised so much seemingly reached its peak in 2002 when he represented Nigeria on the world stage, but hit rock bottom this year.

His parent club in Greece was stripped of its professional licence and demoted after a match-fixing affair.

Now, the striker who was once one of Nigeria's stars of the future, is fully focused on breaking into the first-team at Middlesbrough.

Ogbeche left Greek side Kavala in the summer after demanding his release from the club in January and, after a successful two-week trial, signed for Middlesbrough a fortnight ago.

It has been a rich and varied career for the man who once kept Nicolas Anelka out of the Paris Saint Germain team, and the 27-year-old now wants to put down roots in England.

Ogbeche, who turned down clubs in Spain to sign for Boro, said: "I'm looking at having a decent run here. I've always wanted to come to England and I'm really looking forward to settling down. I just have to work hard to repay the faith the club have shown.

"I asked to be released from Kavala. I wasn't happy and it wasn't easy for me to be released by the club, but I spoke to the president. They didn't want to let me go but I am an honest person.

"I couldn't stay there while I wasn't happy. I wanted to leave in January but they would not let me go. Finally during the summer I went back to the president and he let me go."

Such was Ogbeche's desire to sign for an English club, the striker admitted he went all-out to impress during his trial, rejecting the other clubs who had shown an interest before learning of Middlesbrough's decision on a contract.

"I wanted to come to a decent place and I learned of Middlesbrough's interest in me and I wanted to come.

"It was tough to turn the other teams down because I was going for something I wasn't sure I was going to get but I kept on believing in myself and I was determined to give it a try."

Ogbeche started his career for PSG in 2001, and the then 17-year-old was a revelation in his first season at Parc Des Princes, earning a call-up to the Super Eagles for Japan/Korea 2002.

However, Nigeria disappointed in a tough group, and in his second season in France Ogbeche struggled to find the form that fired him on to the world stage and was loaned out to Bastia then Metz, before departing PSG in 2005.

Spells in the United Arab Emirates, then three years at Spain at Alaves then Cadiz, saw Ogbeche briefly return to prominence, but his ultimately unsuccessful spell in Greece proved to be the nadir of a career which has promised much but delivered very little.

Ogbeche remains positive and is optimistic he can be a success on Teesside.

He said: "Right from day one I've been positive about everything here. I'm a very positive person and I kept on believing in myself. Even on trial I kept on thinking it would work out and I'm really happy with how things have turned out.

"I just hope it gets better and better as time goes by. I know what it takes to succeed and I'm determined. I know I have to work hard and really prove to my team-mates that I can fit in and especially reward the manager for the faith he has shown in me.

Ogbeche played 30 minutes against Derby a fortnight ago, and is in line to be on the bench at the Riverside again today when Watford are the visitors. The forward believes that if his chance comes, he can take full advantage.

He said: "I don't know when that first start will come. I'm looking forward to it, hopefully it is going to be sooner rather than later. I just need to keep working hard at training, keep on making things difficult for the manager so when he chooses his team he's going to think ‘shall I put Bart on the bench, or is he ready for his chance.'

"I had a good reception from the fans when I came on and hopefully my hard work is going to pay off."

After a decade of travelling, Ogbeche is pleased to be in England at last.

He said: "What attracted me to England? Everything you can imagine. The style of play, the people, the language - I knew I didn't have to learn it - everything.

"Lots of my friends in the game have been telling me to come to England for years. Julien Faubert told me to come here. The last game we played, against Doncaster, I saw Pascal Chimbonda and he said to me ‘this is where you need to be, you belong here' while we were doing the warm-up, and I saw Ilunga too and he said the same.

"You don't know until you get here though. I'm loving it, I've been here a couple of weeks, I don't have any regrets. I'm hoping to have a decent run. I've had a good reception here, I've adapted as quick as possible. I don't feel like I'm new here and that's testament to the manager. Hopefully when I get on the pitch I can pay them back. Hopefully I can make a good impact here."