INTERVIEW WITH WEBBY

I felt it was important that I should ask club captain Dan Webb to answer the sort of questions I know supporters have been raising to get an insight from within the dressing room. As you would expect Dan is honest and his loyalty to the club is as we would all expect.

Many thanks to Dan for taking the time to answer my questions.

Earlier in the season we were playing out from the back taking many passes but recently we appear to have gone much more direct. How do you feel about this change of tactics?

I welcome it! We worked on playing out from the back from day one this year and to a certain extent, it worked. We had a plan, we were getting success out of it and you could even say it was good to watch. Unfortunately the season hit and we got found out. Teams were pressing us well, forcing mistakes and capitalising on winning the ball back in our half. Teams in our league playing attractive football is a rarity, they get much more success winning ugly – and that’s what most of them were doing against us. So we changed our approach at Hednesford but it wasn’t a “just go long” for 90 minutes, it was more to stop inviting the pressure and end up chasing games. We came away with a point, which should’ve been three!

Sitting in the relegation zone must be very frustrating. Can you put your finger on what has gone wrong so far this season?

See above….plus too many individual mistakes and some real bad luck!

Do you feel we are perhaps lacking experienced players and relying too much on younger less experienced players?

I think this plays its part but you have to have the right mix. And if you look at where our goals have come from this year, it’s those younger “less experienced players” who are scoring. Also, experience costs money! Apart from me, I’ve been paying Burkey for the last three seasons! Signing Glees (Stephen Gleeson) and having Steve Cawley come back in has brought some solidity which will give us some quality and hopefully help us manage games better.

Did Callum Stead’s move to South Shields have a big effect on team morale? Did his return have the opposite affect?

I would say no, no impact on morale – players come and go all the time…and a good share of them come back! But of course, losing Kidda (Callum) was a big loss for us as a team. His pace and willingness to just keep running for 90 minutes gives the team such confidence and it terrifies defenders. I’m glad he took his chance when he did. Everyone was pleased for him when he left and pleased for themselves when he returned. Knowing his talent, I can’t guarantee it will be for long. Kidda, if you read this… “plz stay bruv”.

You have been very unlucky with injuries in the last two seasons and missed a number of games this season when you were badly missed. How frustrating is this?

I appreciate the comment but after I was injured at Redditch, we actually beat Nuneaton at home in the league and Biggleswade Town away in the FA Cup. I hate not playing – and you don’t always appreciate it when you’re fit and playing until you pick up an injury or get dropped and have to sit on the bench. Or worse, sit in the stands next to Dave (our coach driver). Everyone knows I pick up injuries at least twice a year and miss games – if it wasn’t for injuries, maybe I’d be another hundred appearances closer to Burkey’s 3000 games or whatever he played. Maybe my lifestyle choices (food and beer) would’ve made a difference, maybe not. If you asked me if I’d do anything differently if I could do it all again…no chance!

How has team morale held up after such a poor run of results and have you had to work hard to keep the players’ spirits up?

Team morale is good! Confidence has been up and down all season of course but we’re still a close squad – sometimes we let the management join in too. The players committee took a few hits because all the members kept leaving the club. Now LB has joined, we have some real stability and direction! Curry/Pizza nights are held on the odd occasion and I’m sure the Christmas Do (not telling you when) will be good for everyone.

Have you been impressed by how loyal the supporters have been and how good attendances have been despite so few victories, and do the players get lifted by this show of support?

Impressed but not surprised – we don’t take the support from the green army for granted and appreciate it must be frustrating for those making the journey, pay their money only to be disappointed to return home with let’s just say “without a win”. I have no doubt that providing the players give 100% effort, the fans will reward them with their continued loyalty and hopefully with that, results will come. The improvements made at the ground have made it even more inviting to come and watch at Hitchin. It’s clear that the whole club has worked so hard to attract the wider community to Top Field – the players are loving the Canary Kitchen too!

Mark Burke has come under pressure from some quarters. Do the players still believe in Mark and trust that he can lead the team out of the relegation places?

I would hope so, otherwise they’re wasting their time (and ours) sitting in the changing rooms week in week out. I think that says it all really, the lads haven’t just jumped ship because we’re bottom of the league in November – they’ve got a bit more about them than that. Every manager has to take on pressure, it comes with the job – fans pay their money and deserve their say. Some of them tell us face to face in the bar afterwards, we respect that. If results don’t come then at the right time, change will – but when it comes to Burkey and his management team, they’ve earnt more than enough to avoid any kneejerk decisions for now.

Do you feel confident that we can turn the corner and start to move up the league?

Of course! But we need to pick up a couple of wins this side of Christmas, otherwise it’s going to difficult to get out. We’ve been in bad spells before, maybe not this bad but we’re certainly not a bottom three side having seen and played against the teams so far.

You have always been so loyal to Hitchin – are you content to stay at Top Field for the rest of your career?

I hope so – though if we keep losing games then I may not have a choice! The club have always made it so easy for me – the loyalty is repaid with loyalty. I’m sure Mark has told you about the hundreds of clubs that have come in for me but I’ve just not entertained it. You hear stories of players at other clubs not being paid the money they’ve signed up for, being lied to by their chairman or being treated poorly by managers – not at Hitchin! Of course it doesn’t work out for everybody but there’s a reason so many players return after leaving the club. Bottom line, is that I love the club and regardless of my future within it, I do NOT want to see Hitchin relegated this season and any season.