It was a game most of his team-mates would probably prefer to forget, but for Christian Ribeiro the opposite applies.

Scunthorpe United's 3-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday is all but a blank for the defender.

A blow to the head with less than a minute played left him concussed and having to significantly cut short his home debut.

Not the introduction he wanted to make to Iron fans – particularly as the previous week had been spent sidelined with a dead leg.

When he arrived, Ribeiro eagerly stated his intention to make up for lost time given his lack of action for parent club Bristol City.

And after the start he's just had, the same can now be said of his Scunthorpe career.

"It's so frustrating," said the 22-year-old

"I played against Colchester United and we had a nice draw, then I got kicked by the goalkeeper in training and missed the Stevenage game.

"Then I came back and within a minute, I got knocked into unconsciousness almost.

"It was just bad luck really.

"My lip burst and I was a bit dazed. I can't really remember the 10 or 15 minutes around that period.

"It was a bit of a shame and unfortunately it set the team off on a bit of a downer, losing a player early and conceding straight away.

"I'm looking forward to putting that behind me and starting afresh now.

"Players perform at their best after they've played five, 10, 15 games on the trot.

"That's what I need to do.

"It's just about getting used to the players, but now I've been here a few weeks and have had a couple of weeks' training, hopefully that will just keep improving.

"People will get used to the sort of game I play and I'll get used to the same with them.

"I look forward to now having a good month, getting five or six games in and really pushing on.

"My aim is to help this team get clean-sheets every week.

"If we don't do that, then that's partly my fault.

"I've just got to give as much experience as I can, as much talking and as much ability as I've got to try to keep improving and keep us solid at the back."

One of seven signings by manager Alan Knill in the January transfer window, Ribeiro is likely to be part of a new-look United side which lines up to face Walsall.

And it will be one which has a new buzz about it , according to the Welshman.

"I think everyone's excited when they see a couple of new faces and it gives everyone a little lift," he said.

"It's a bit more competition and generally when people come in who are a little bit more fresh they come in with a different view point.

"Hopefully they'll be good quality players.

"I like to think myself that I can add a bit more quality to the team. I hope I can improve them and help them get better results.

"Fingers crossed we'll all gel together really well on Saturday.

"It does take time.

"I've only played one full 90 minutes, so I'm not gelled into the team yet. That just comes from games.

"The only thing you can do is get out there, play the 90 minutes and over time it will improve your performance."

As a team, the Iron need to do that with considerably more haste.

Stuck in the bottom four – albeit purely on goal difference – they face a decisive month when it comes to their survival hopes.

But based on what he has seen so far, Ribeiro believes Knill's men have every reason to feel confident.

"Unfortunately for Scunthorpe, they've drawn 13 games, so the problem hasn't been losing games, it's been not winning," he said.

"Now we're playing teams in and around us they are really important games.

"We are fourth bottom, with the others picking up form.

"Draws aren't enough any more. We've got to start beating teams like Walsall and Yeovil – those teams around us.

"It's in our hands still, that's the good thing.

"If we do as well as we can then we'll push our way back up.

"The team here is more than good enough to get way up this table really.

"I was pleasantly surprised really when I came into training, the standard has been really good.

"I think the draws this season have masked what a tidy team it is.

"In football unfortunately, you might as well win one and lose two than draw two and lose one.

"I think Scunthorpe have been a little bit at fault for that.

"But we've just got to put that right.

"When we see teams like Walsall coming here this month it's really important that we don't let them win and we have to pick up points ourselves.

"We have to start winning, we can't just keep drawing our way out.

"Everyone here is a good player, and everyone here has got more than enough capability to play well and win games at League One level."