SCOTT BANKS has revealed he couldn’t wait to spread his wings and join Dunfermline – and wants to help them soar into the top flight.

Last Monday, the 19-year-old landed in West Fife from the Eagles of Crystal Palace to put pen to paper on a loan deal until the end of the season and become Athletic’s second signing of the January transfer window.

Linlithgow native Banks, who joined Roy Hodgson’s English Premier League outfit from Dundee United on a three-year deal 12 months ago, had a number of suitors on both sides of the border but chose to join up with Stevie Crawford’s side.

The Pars head coach has kept tabs on the attacking midfielder since his Tannadice days, with a man-of-the-match performance in the League Two play-off final, second leg, against Annan Athletic during a loan spell at Clyde particularly grabbing his attention.

That helped the Scotland under-19 international make up his mind to make the temporary switch and, on Saturday, made his debut from the bench in the 1-0 loss to Hearts.

Speaking after completing his move ahead of the weekend, he said: “I’d heard about the interest for a wee while.

“I think the gaffer had been monitoring what I’d been doing. He was obviously aware that I just wanted the opportunity to try and play some football back at men’s level. It’s something I’ve really enjoyed in the past and he wanted me to come here and play, and I was so eager to get out that it worked. I’m delighted to be here.

“You forget sometimes that anyone can be watching at any game, and it’s nice that in a game I felt I played really well, that that’s indicated in his view.

“It’s comforting to know that there’s been people watching and monitoring, and now that I’m here, knowing that the gaffer does like the way I play and what I can bring to the team, feels good.

“If the gaffer is going to give me an opportunity to go and express myself in a way that I might not be able to at another club, then obviously the attraction is going to be to come here, where I can express myself in the best way and hopefully perform in the best way.”

Banks, who could go straight into the squad for Saturday’s trip to face leaders Hearts at Tynecastle, has been been performing for the Selhurst Park under-23s this season, featuring 11 times and scoring four goals.

When asked about what the message was from Palace, he replied: “They want me to be enjoying my football at my age, show people what I can do, but really go and affect the games as much as I can and show them why I’m coming from a team like Palace.

“I’ve got a lot to work on in terms of my physicality and size; that’s things I can improve on here. The Championship’s a physical league so it’s something that I can do but the message from them is very much just go and impact games, and enjoy it.

“The 23s group we’ve got just now is excellent. It’s a good group and we have started to win games and get good performances in before I moved. I enjoyed playing for the 23s and I’d put in a lot of good performances but, ultimately, I want to be playing men’s football as much as I can. That’s what this move has allowed me to do.”

Banks joins a Dunfermline side firmly in the promotion race and who are looking to cut the gap to the summit this weekend, and is keen to add to the promotion he enjoyed with Clyde – starting with being involved at Tynecastle.

“If I’m not in that starting 11, I’ll be sure that when I do come on, I can make an impact in the game and hopefully come away with a win,” he added.

“With having tasted promotion in League Two with Clyde, it’s such an unbelievable experience, even at that level. If I can do something like that again at a high level, what a feeling that would be. It’s a real attractive move for me and I’m excited.”