Tomas Kalas feels he is at the 'best possible place' to further his footballing development.
The Chelsea defender joined Championship club Middlesbrough on loan earlier this month, immediately making his debut in the 0-0 draw with Reading on the weekend.
One-time Czech Republic international Kalas arrives at the Riverside Stadium having experienced a tough temporary spell with German club FC Cologne and feels he will now be able to gain valuable first team minutes in a pressure-filled environment in England's second division.
"It was quite quick how it all happened,"Kalas told the club's official website. "I just got a call that I was going to Middlesbrough so I spent New Year's Eve on a plane.
"I arrived and was a bit ill, but I was training and hoping that all the papers would go through so that I could play the first game and they did so it was great.
"The first game came quickly but I'm glad that I could play.
"I could count the games I've played in the last year-and-a-half on one hand, so it was the best possible start for the future and I think I'm at the right place."
Of fourth-placed Boro, Kalas added: "All the players are together and it's like one family - hopefully we can keep it like that - that would be perfect.
"It would be different if I went to team that was middle of the table with no pressure of relegation or promotion.
"It's similar to the pressure in the Premier League here because you have to work yourself and it's good to have that pressure of trying to gain promotion at Middlesbrough."
