Stoke City forward Ricardo ‘Wily Boo’ Fuller has been savouring the challenge of gaining a regular starting place on the English Premiership club team since the arrival of Turkish goal-poacher Tuncay Sanli and Trinidad & Tobago hitman Kenwyne Jones.

Speaking to the Observer last week after scoring his 100th goal in British football, the Jamaican International said the quality available upfront for Stoke has motivated him to work even harder.

“When you have these players coming in it gives me the motivation to do better in training so of course it would help any player. We all know a maximum of 11 players can be on the team at any time so it motivates me to do better,” said the 31-year-old.

“Having that high calibre of players in the squad keeps my fire burning to do well, especially with some persons not giving me the respect that I deserve. So I’m going to do everything in my power to train as hard as I can to improve my technique, to improve my sprinting, as well as my endurance. I will do everything to ensure that I’m always performing and always scoring,” he added.

Now on 101 goals, Fuller is just two behind compatriot Lloyd Lindbergh ‘Lindy’ Delapenha, who represented Portsmouth and later, Middlesbrough in a decade’s span between 1948 and 1958.

Plagued by injuries from his Manning Cup days at Camperdown High, ‘Wily Boo’ has not always had things his way since starting his career in Britain in 2001.

A series of hip, back and knee problems proved to be huge obstacles on the road to success for Fuller, but he explained that he always had the will to excel.

“Injuries have always been a concern for me but each time I’ve bounced back well. Coming back from that back injury (in 2001) after being out for more than a year, I went to Heart of Midlothian (in the Scottish League) and I scored nine goals there and that’s where my career kick-started again,” he said.

Fuller has so far bagged 47 goals for Stoke City in 166 appearances for Stoke, to go with an impressive 31 in 63 games for Preston North End. He also has a combined 23 goals in his short stints at Southampton, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth and Hearts.

Fuller is expected to figure in Stoke’s match-up against Manchester City this weekend.