After more than six months without a club, Timm Klose is enjoying his time with Bristol City after signing with the club in January.
The Robins couldn’t have asked for a much better recruitment who could slot into their team as well as their new Swiss defender has.
It’s helped that he’s been able to have the time to get comfortable in the City as he returned to playing in England for the first time since departing Norwich City on loan to Basel in his home nation.
“I’m settling in quite well actually,” said Klose, speaking to the media ahead of Bristol’s match against Swansea City.
“I have an apartment now in the city and I’ve been more and more comfortable.
“Having my own place, it makes everything a bit easier so I can cope for myself and walk around and explore the city a bit better, and I’m really enjoying it at the moment.”
The Robins’ man of the match in their 2-1 win against Reading at Ashton Gate has settled in well with the Robins, and has hit the ground running by playing in every match since his arrival.
“Obviously it was a tough game, we knew that the had quality and even when I was on the pitch I was surprised that [Reading] are that low in the league.
“The good thing was that we were able to bounce back after the Blackpool game and I’m very happy with the 3 points.
“I’m just really glad that I’m back out there again and can help the team as much as possible, I want to enjoy playing football.”
The 33-year-old was released by Norwich City upon the end of his contract, and Basel decided against signing him for 2021/22, leaving him without a club until Nigel Pearson and Curtis Fleming convinced him to join Bristol.
Pearson knew immediately from meeting Klose that he would be perfect for the project he wants to build for the club, and has been thrilled with his contributions thus far.
“He’s an organizer and he’s got a calmness that comes with experience of playing in pressure situations,” Pearson told reporters in his pre-match press conference.
“He comes with a really positive personality as well and the ability to communicate with people.
“For me, as soon as he came in the building he was fit for purposes, in terms of fitness-wise. It was an absolute no-brainer for me.”
Klose himself knows he’s nearing the end of his career, but has taken steps to try and maintain his high levels of performance for as long as possible.
“When I came to Norwich, I was interested in the whole vegan thing,” Klose continued.
“We watched some documentaries on Netflix about how it is for sportsmen to be vegan and how that can affect your performance.
“The thing is these documentaries get their money from those companies with vegan products so you have to find the right balance so I started to talk to people about how it would be if I became a vegetarian and how it would affect my recovery and overall health.
“Food is a huge topic if you’re a professional, you have to look after yourself.
“When I was 21 or 22, after every game I would go to McDonalds, which wasn’t the right thing to do but as I said you learn from experience and I’ve learnt how to treat my body and my body gives me that treatment back.”
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Klose’s deal at City expires in the summer, but he has reiterated that he’s happy to stay if Pearson and the club are willing to keep him and if he maintains the performances he’s put in to date, he’ll surely convince those in power at his new club.
