The Wrexham midfielder struck his third goal of the season in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Derby County, underlining the impact he has made since a summer switch from Nottingham Forest.
“I always wanted somewhere to call home. When I spoke to the gaffer [Phil Parkinson] and to the people I knew who were already here, it was definitely a no-brainer to come here,” said O’Brien.
“Forest made it pretty obvious that it was time for me to leave the club and I'd been on four loans.
“It was one of those where, now you look back on it, you're very happy with the decision.
“It was time to leave and it was nice to know I had the options to lay them out on the table and pick the one that was right for me. So far it looks like this was the best one.”
The 26-year-old arrived at the Stōk Cae Ras after being deemed surplus at Forest, following spells at Huddersfield, Swansea, Bradford and on loan in the US.
He has wasted no time in proving his worth under Parkinson, playing every minute of the Championship campaign so far and already matching the form that once made him one of the EFL’s brightest young talents.
“Surprisingly with the goals, this is my best return in a while,” he said.
“I like to play as many minutes as I can. The amount of players we have, the competition is really good and it means we're pushing each other every day.
“Anyone can play in the team, but luckily it's been me so far.”
O’Brien’s latest strike – a crisp second-half finish – briefly put Wrexham on course for a first home win at this level since promotion, only for Derby’s Ben Brereton Diaz to cancel it out.
Wrexham boss Parkinson felt his team had done enough to claim all three points, but was encouraged by the quality of the display.
“It was a strong performance, so I am disappointed that we did not win,” said the manager.
“We scored an outstanding goal too and, at that point, I thought we had Derby where we wanted them.
“We could have done better for their goal, but our quality of performance was really good.
“Derby are a direct team, but we stood strong against that.
“We are improving as a team and learning about the Championship from each game.
“I also thought our crowd was magnificent and they played a huge part – especially in the second half.”
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The draw extended Wrexham’s run to just one defeat in six matches across all competitions, with Parkinson’s squad continuing to strengthen both on the pitch and off it.
Recent injury returns for Josh Windass, Nathan Broadhead and George Thomason have provided a boost, while deadline-day additions Ben Sheaf, Issa Kabore and Dom Hyam have further increased competition for places.
O’Brien believes that depth will be vital.
“It's a fantastic squad. The competition is really good in every single position. We're putting different 11s out in the cup and they're still performing fantastically,” he said.
“You look at the players who have been injured and are coming back, it's just getting stronger.”
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