James Alabi's desire for regular first-team football brought him Chester FC .

The London-born forward signed a deal for the remainder of the season at the end of last week after leaving Championship side Ipswich Town.

His career appearances to date have come primarily out on loan or in development football but the 21-year-old believes he has spent enough time learning his craft.

"I came to a decision with me and Ipswich that I wasn't getting enough playing time in the first-team and I thought to myself that I wanted to go somewhere and try and get as many games as possible," said Alabi, who spoke to Steve Burr at the end of last season about a move to Chester after he was released from Stoke City.

"I know the manager from when he tried to get me in the summer but I got the deal from Ipswich and this was the first place that I wanted to come.

"I'm at a stage now in my career where I don't want to go on loan to get experience, I want to get my head down, work hard and get as many goals as I can.

"That's what I'm here for. I'm not thinking about anything else but getting goals and getting some points on the board."

Read: James Alabi signs for rest of season after leaving Ipswich Town

Alabi, who has been on loan to National League rivals Grimsby Town this season, completed his move to Chester on Friday afternoon.

He met up with the squad on Saturday when he was thrown straight into the starting line-up to face Braintree Town.

Alabi worked hard in his 74 minute debut but found scoring chances limited in a 2-0 reverse that made it five league games without a win for the Blues.

James Alabi in action for Grimsby earlier this season against Solihull in the FA Trophy
James Alabi in action for Grimsby earlier this season against Solihull in the FA Trophy

"It was good to get a start and get some minutes in a Chester shirt on board," said Alabi.

"Obviously it was a difficult game as you could see from the pitch and the conditions but we're just going to have to take the positives from the game and take that into next week.

"It was very difficult because of the pitch and we didn't do ourselves any justice by going two goals down so that made it difficult for us to come back.

Read: Steve Burr 'annoyed' over defensive lapses in Braintree Town loss

Alabi won't be available for this weekend's FA Trophy clash with FC Halifax Town having appeared in the competition for Grimsby.

His next outing will come against second-bottom Torquay United on February 13 and he's determined to help keep Chester clear of the bottom four and ease the burned on top scorer Ross Hannah.

"My aim now is to help the lads get ready for the FA Trophy game and then focus on the Torquay game, work hard in training and try to better myself to make sure I can get a few goals," said Alabi.

"The manager has been great, the lads have been great because I met them before the game and I'm looking forward to getting to know how they play and them getting to know how I play.

"I know Ross has been scoring goals so it's time for me now to come in to help him and get some goals as well."