Pars have everything to play for
Friday, 8th Jul 2016Ben Richards-Everton : "I really enjoyed my season here and if you are enjoying your football I believe you should stay where you are
"I have looked after myself when I have been away over the summer and although we have done pretty much the same pre season as last year I didn`t find it as hard.
"I think I have done well in pre season and I am just raring to go now waiting for the season to start. The boys are really fit and the ones who have come in look sharp and good as well. It is going to be a testing season for us but I think we are all ready for it."
Last season Ben had four different partners in central defence and although Callum Fordyce is working his way back to fitness, Ben now has new signing Lee Ashcroft alongside him. He commented:-
"He has come in and done really well. He is a young lad but has experience of playing in a higher league with Kilmarnock. We are both learning but we could be a good partnership. Dycey is coming back as well after missing almost the whole season through injury. He is flying now and will give us competition for places. We all need that, we are all young centre halves and competition is always good."
Returning to the right side of defence is Ryan Williamson and Ben feels that Ryan`s fitness is so good that it feels like he has never been out.
"Honestly the way he gets up and down is ridiculous. He has come back flying. We get heart rate monitors in training and get our results in the dinner hall and he is always near the top for high intensity and distance covered. It just shows you how hard working he is. He has a great attitude, he has a lot of potential and I think he will go really far. If he keeps going like he is, who knows where he can end up but he will be a massive asset to the side this year."
As the Pars prepare for the season ahead in the Championship Ben feels that there is nothing to be afraid of.
"The lads who were here last season are more than capable of stepping up and playing against the teams at this level. If we go into each game how we did last year it doesn`t matter who is the opposition, it is about how we do.
"If we apply ourselves in the right way, give 100 per cent there is no reasons why we cannot beat anyone in the league. I do not think there is any fear at all just because of the names of the teams.
"This is a big club as well so we need to set the mark up right and make teams be scared of us. That is what the gaffer will be trying to grill into us."
After a season of having to deal with opposition that sat in a bit, Ben thinks that his team might need to be more tactical.
"We don`t know until the season starts and we just do what Sandy, the gaffer and Potts asks of us. I can`t see our game plan changing much from last year. The gaffer likes to play very attacking football and counterattack. We have great players going forward, Joe Cardle, Paul McMullan and Gavin Reilly had come in from Hearts. We have got Michael Moffat still and that front line itself will hurt any defence.
"There is everything to play for. I don`t think teams will sit in and I don`t think we will sit in. Every team is going to want to get points on the board and get as high as you can up the table."
Ben feels that the friendly against Hearts will be a good test for the Championship new boys. He is really looking forward to it as undoubtedly so will be the fans. The more friendlies played the better the players will get up to match speed.
"That is what the friendlies are for but it is our first home game and we want to get a good result in front of our home crowd. The pitch is looking beautiful and we just need to get the ball down and play. We need to really test ourselves against good opposition."
Five to ten goals per season should be an achievable target considers Ben especially when you take his height into consideration.
"I got two last season which I was quite disappointed with. I am working hard in training every day just trying to improve. If I can apply goals to my game it would be a massive thing for me."
John Potter used to play in Ben`s position and the tall Englishman had been grateful for the advice passed on by the Pars coach:-
"He is a great guy and helps me a lot with positional sense and tips on how to do things better than what I did. He was a good help last year as was Sandy and the gaffer. They have all been brilliant to me and that was one of the reasons that I decided that I wanted to stay because of how much they improved me.
"I really enjoyed my season here and if you are enjoying your football I believe you should stay where you are. The fans were brilliant, the boys were brilliant, everything to do with the club is excellent. No disrespect to the league below but I am looking forward to testing myself against better players now."
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