TORONTO

Ask Bradley Orr what kind of player he is and he’ll cut you off mid-sentence.

“Honest,” he blurted to the Toronto Sun in his first one-on-one talk since joining Toronto FC last month.

“Other people will form an opinion once they’ve seen me perform,” Orr continued. “All I can say on that is I’m an honest player. I try to get the best out of what I’ve got. Hopefully that’s good enough. It’s all anyone can ever ask.”

On and off the field, the 31-year-old English fullback is as no-nonsense as it gets.

He doesn’t shy away from questions. His answers aren’t contrived.

He reiterates his focus is on one thing: Winning.

“If I’m good, bad or indifferent, time will tell,” Orr said. “People will form opinions.”

When news of Orr’s impending arrival trickled out of the U.K., many TFC fans did just that, choosing to form opinions about Orr’s misunderstood past instead of focusing on what he’ll potentially add.

In October 2005, Orr and a pair of Bristol City teammates were jailed following a brouhaha outside a nightclub — something Orr told the Sun he “wouldn’t change” for the world.

“It made me stronger mentally,” Orr said. “It’s part of my makeup. It has made me who I am today. I’m pretty mentally strong and cope with all the things in life.”

He said outsiders shouldn’t be too quick to judge him based on an incident that occurred eight years ago.

“Not many people know what really went on all those years ago,” Orr explained.

“I’d like to think I’m a good person. I’m the father of a young family, who I care very much about. Professionally, I just want to be the best I can be.”

The club’s front office hopes that means stepping in for Richard Eckersley — offloaded to the New York Red Bulls last week — right away.

This off-season, the “Transformation of TFC,” as the Sun has labeled it since last year, has evolved around bringing in loads of talent up top.

General manager Tim Bezbatchenko has been surgical in his ability to stockpile scoring threats, while TFC’s back four has remained intact for the most part.

There’s no doubt Toronto has a championship-calibre group of attackers. For the first time, it even has depth throughout its front six.

As a result, the ability for Toronto’s back four to hold the fort could be the difference between the Reds limping into the post-season or sizing up the conference final.

“It’s a massive opportunity and one I’m really looking forward to,” Orr said of stepping in from Day 1. “I’ve got to prove to my new teammates and the lads sitting in the dressing room that I can be trusted and I can produce.”

Helping him do that will be a childhood friend, a current teammate he has known for close to 20 years after sharing a field with him during their youth days at Newcastle.

Steven Caldwell, TFC’s 33-year-old centre back, will frequently be standing 15 metres away from Orr throughout the season.

Friends who began their European careers together are winding things down a decade later.

“We became friends straight away and have remained so ever since,” Orr said. “Stevie has been a big influence on myself and my career. He’s always been like a captain, a leader in whatever dressing room he’s in. For the likes of me, he was perfect. You try and follow the leader’s role and emulate the professionalism.

“Hopefully he can be the same at Toronto.”

Adding a defender who has been through all of the highs and lows — English relegation and promotion — the sport has to offer could prove invaluable in 2014.

Before the off-season, the Reds looked extremely light-weight across the back, lacking depth on both the right and left before Orr and Justin Morrow joined the fold.

Now, Ryan Nelsen’s defensive unit is bustling with experience, and Orr could be the final piece to the puzzle with first kick six weeks away.

“I’ll certainly be giving it 100%,” Orr said. “I’ll be giving it everything possible. I want to be as successful as I possibly can be. That means winning and being part of a winning team.”