As far as second forty-five minutes go, those played out on Saturday, against Wigan, were pretty dull and that`s being kind.
Well that is until Andrew Johnson was introduced as a substitute with around ten minutes to go.
Johnson got a wonderful reception and his introduction certainly brightened matters up.
Talking to the media as he continues his march towards full match fitness, Johnson spoke about a variety of things, but first the welcome the supporters gave him,
“I`d like to say a big thank you to the fans. They have been absolutely fantastic. To come back to a set of fans like that is truly amazing. It sent a shiver down my spine when I came on in front of them.”
You`re most welcome Andrew.
Continuing, Johnson went on to describe life under Hughes and the need to impress a boss, Mark Hughes, who he didn`t have much involvement with whilst he went through his rehabilitation programme this summer, commenting,
“I didn`t see much of him over the summer with my injuries and then the first part of the season I was in the gym.”
“Any player who gets a new boss is eager to prove what they can do and the manager has put me on in the last two games.”
“He has been fantastic. He told me to take my time and not to rush back.”
“And his training routines have been brilliant too. He has really helped me get fit quicker because of the intensity of the training.”
“Hopefully in four weeks` time you will see me super match fit – back to how I was.”
It`s interesting how so many players have expressed the fact that training is so different under Hughes than it was with Roy Hodgson, it`d be interesting to see how those under Roy at Liverpool view matters.
Upon being introduced, Johnson thought he should have had two penalties, commenting about one,
“Chris Baird got to the by-line and pulled the ball back for me.”
“Thomas came in and caught me from behind without touching the ball. I felt it was a penalty.”
A sentiment shared by several around me.
Lastly Andrew spoke to the media hacks about the style of football Hughes wants to see the team play, remarking,
“The manager has put massive emphasis on how we play. He wants us to press high, get in people`s faces. He wants us to stop other teams pressing us.”
“We did that and when we got the ball we were relaxed and played some great stuff. Some of our football was fantastic.”
It was but it should, perhaps, be re-iterated that the opposition on Saturday were very poor!
Vital Fulham on:
Vital Fulham on:
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