INTERVIEW: Building up my fitness

“I was obviously looking forward to playing and it is nice to be back,” he said. “It’s good to be involved in a game and in getting three points. 

“The result was very important for us. If you go back to the FA Cup game we felt really unlucky not to come away with at least a draw and a replay. Results went our way on Saturday and it’s important now that we build on it and climb up the table as quickly as we can.”

“We knew it was going to be a tough game because they’ve been going well recently,” he said. “But we should be going out there expecting to beat teams at home. 

“Derek [Asamoah] is a great lad and he’s a good outlet to have on the pitch. You can almost just put balls in behind and you know his pace will get him onto the end of things. He had a lot of time in front of goal but he showed what he’s about with the way he finished it off. He’s another who is still getting back up to full speed but that’s coming with every game he plays.”

“It’s been a frustrating period for me on a personal level because I’d only trained a few days with the new manager when the injury happened,” he continued. “I’m just glad I’m through it all and that I’m involved in the team again. 

“I’ve had a few days of training under my belt ahead of the game and I felt quite good. I picked up a couple of cramps just before I came off but other than that I felt fine. It’s a case of building up match fitness now and hopefully I’ll get to the stage where I’m chalking off 90 minutes regularly. 

“I got a decent reception from the fans when I came off the pitch and that was nice. They haven’t seen too much of me so I still want to show them what I can do. It could take two or three games before I’m fully up to speed and in a way I feel I have something to prove. The supporters have every right to ask questions about what I can do because they haven’t seen a lot of me at all. It’s up to me to show them by getting into the team and playing well.”

“I’d heard and seen the comments from the manager about me and it’s great that he sees me as an attacking player who can exploit defences and get at people,” he commented. “It’s a big confidence booster to hear that because I know I’ll be able to get out there and play with a bit of freedom. 

“We did a bit of work in training on shape on Friday, when the gaffer named the team, so I was comfortable with the wide role I was asked to do. I’m happy to play on either wing but I enjoyed the 60 or so minutes I got. I was just looking forward to being in a game more than anything because I haven’t enjoyed being on the sidelines. There’s only so much you can do on the training pitch in terms of fitness. It’s in games where you start to get the sharpness back so that’s where I want to be.”