JAKE JERVIS is ready for anything Scottish football can throw at him.
He has, after all, braved a firestorm in Turkey, ignoring a baying crowd to score 11 minutes into his debut.
The former Birmingham City and Portsmouth striker netted brilliantly for Elazigspor against Fenerbahce last January in the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
With 60,000 home supporters in attendance, Jervis's team had the audacity to take the lead. The notoriously riotous home stands erupted in anger with missiles and flares fired on to the pitch, but Jervis and his Elazigspor team-mates held their nerve to draw 2-2.
Jervis may only be 22 but has already packed in more experiences than many grizzled 35-year-olds. In five years as a senior professional, he has made than 11 transfer moves.
He starred in FA Cup matches against Everton and Chelsea and two Europa League games against Maribor and Nacional while at Birmingham.
County, though, have stepped in to offer him a solid career platform after a frustrating spate of loan deals and short-lived transfers.
Jervis certainly feels his Turkish experience should fortify him for trips to grounds like Celtic Park and Pittodrie. The Wolverhampton-born striker said: "It was a really enjoyable day - a wonderful experience - and I can imagine the Celtic fans will be just as passionate as the Fenerbahce supporters, if maybe not quite as wild and crazy.
"The fans over there have to be seen to be believed. If things are going wrong for the team there will be fans on the pitch, missiles being thrown, flares igniting. The atmosphere was very good in the handful of matches I managed to play and I'll never forget the Fenerbahce game. Hopefully, that has helped prepare me for whatever I might encounter in Scottish football."
Jervis emerged from the Wolves youth set-up, before joining Shrewsbury and then Birmingham.Alex McLeish gave him his City debut from the bench in an FA Cup tie with Everton in January 2010.
They won through 2-1 with Jervis causing Everton defender Sylvain Distin one or two problems late on.
He did not make the breakthrough at Birmingham but had a record of netting a goal every other game in loan spells at clubs like Swindon Town, Preston North End, Tranmere Rovers and Portsmouth. His short spell in Turkey was terminated after the club defaulted on player wages, with Jervis signing a temporary deal with Portsmouth last January. Now Scotland's Premiership beckons - and he can't wait to get started.
"I'm raring to go. I've been warmly welcomed by the manager and George Adams, the director of football, has been great in bringing me up here and getting me settled in. It's an opportunity to play football. I have played for a lot of clubs already, but it's just that I haven't wanted to just sit about in the reserves. I just feel, now, I have to try and settle down and get a full season behind me at one club."
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