Johnson - I will justify fee

Blues defender confident he can prove he is worth £5m

By Richard Bailey   Last updated: 26th June 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Johnson - I will justify fee

Johnson: Fee does add pressure

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New Birmingham defender Roger Johnson is confident he can justify his £5million price tag although he admits it does add extra pressure to his move.

The 26-year-old completed his transfer to St Andrews from Cardiff on Thursday and has signed a three-year deal keeping him at the club until 2012.

The former Wycombe defender is the third centre-half to be signed by manager Alex McLeish this summer following the arrivals of Scott Dann and Giovanny Espinoza.

However Johnson hopes to shine under the intense competition for places as he gets to grips with a price tag which seems hefty considering he has no Premier League experience.

"Competition is good," he told the club's official website. "We had it at Cardiff when I first signed and I had to battle my way into the side.

"I am not frightened to do that. I am not expecting to walk into the side. I will battle it out with the other boys and I am sure they are thinking the same.

Pressure

As regards to the fee Johnson said: "The fee in a way does add a bit of pressure but I will just do what I will do.

"It is a massive fee but I take the pressure in my stride and just crack on. Hopefully I will do as well as I did at Cardiff and do the same for Birmingham."

Johnson was named in the Championship team of the year last term as a result of his stand-out performances for the Bluebirds and he can not wait to test himself at the top level.

"I have played in the FA Cup final and I just want to play Premier League football. I am just looking forward to getting out there and playing," he added.

"It will be amazing to go to Manchester United on the opening day of the season and hopefully I will be in the starting line-up, as I keep saying, I just can't wait to start playing for Birmingham City."