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Defender Morgan Feeney settled into his first full season with the club last term with some assured and steady performances, with his decisive approach at the heart of the defense eventually triggering a clause in his contract that brought him back to the club this the summer.
Match reports
FRIENDLY: Penrith
July 1, 2022
The 23-year-old has also become a hero on the terrace with his ability to recover, block and tackle, making him a fan favorite who elicited chants of “Feeeennneeeeeeeeeyyy” almost every time he touched the ball.
His vital winning goal in March against Oldham earned him the Champagne Moment of the season and he returned for pre-season looking strong and fit and with a smile on his face that suggested confidence levels were high.
Speaking after Friday night’s friendly, he said: “We’ve had a tough week or ten days or whatever we’ve been in now so it was important to get a few minutes in the legs while we’re still feeling tired in a scenario of game.
“This is important because match fitness is completely different to being fit in training. It was important that we got it right and the boys got a good workout, so that was good.
“It kind of feels like you’re releasing the cobwebs and the first few days in training you’re back in them.”
“When you’re in your first game scenario, you realize you just can’t replicate that in practice. That’s why it’s important to get it right and proceed as if it’s your first league game. We did that. We all got from him what we needed and that was a professional performance.
Club news
GALLERY: Images from Penrith friendly
July 2, 2022
In the first half it was very much about looking after the ball and keeping possession in front of a tenacious Penrith defence.
“We knew we were going to have a lot of the ball and it was important for us not to be careless with it,” he explained. “It’s easy to get careless when you have so much of the ball. Like I said, we were pros at it and it was a good night’s work.
“There are a lot of games to come in pre-season and this was the first trial game. We’re all here to impress the manager and we all want to play in the first game of the season, including the young lads who haven’t hurt themselves, they’ve done really well.
“We’ve been out for a while, we’ve had six weeks off, so it’s just about getting back on the pitch. It’s obviously a great dressing room either way and when you go out there, all you want to do is get it right.”
“Credit to Penrith, they were really determined,” he continued. “They look like a young team, but they were entitled to be fair to them. They were passionate, they were young and stable. We had to work hard.
“We had a lot of possession, but we broke them down in the end. We knew we just had to be patient. It was a good test because you will face teams like that during the season. It’s about good habits and applying them on the field.”
Club news
GALLERY: More images from Penrith friendly
July 2, 2022
But he admitted that ten days of grueling sessions was a real test, with the real work to be done focused on getting ready for a tough season.
“This pre-season was really tough and we all had to work hard,” he explained. “The boys came back in really good shape, the running was tough but the football was tough too.
“The boys just got on with it and I think Jamie [Roper] and the manager are delighted with the current stats and everything we’ve put in since we’ve been back.
“We trained this morning [Friday] and we were resting that afternoon, so we were always going to have heavy legs. That’s why we had to pick ourselves up again for the game, which we did, and that will bode well for the season.”
“It’s definitely tough, but it’s nice and it’s exciting when you come back,” he continued. “You’re raring to go and even though it’s never easy, you just want to be there and you’ve got to enjoy it while you can.
“It can seem like a very long week when there are no games because playing the game is your goal during the week. We get the first week without one and then they start coming thick and fast.
“Now we’re getting to the next one and it’s about getting minutes and running in the legs. Hopefully with all of that we’ll be in a really good place for the start of the season.”
Club news
INTERVIEW: There were some really good goals
July 2, 2022
And if United succeed in the Carabao Cup, it could mean a run of nine games between the first leg in Crawley and the end of August.
“It’s coming thick and fast and with the amount of games coming at you, you just have to be individually prepared to play each one,” he said. “I know everyone wants to play, but you have to have good basic fitness and level in your feet to do this tough month.
“It’s going to be like that throughout the season but hopefully at the end of it we’ll show how fit we are and push forward while the other teams maybe fade away a bit.”
“I think that’s why the workload so far has been very heavy in terms of work. The team spirit is very high because of that too, because we pulled each other through it.
“It’s never easy, but you have to enjoy it with a smile on your face, it brings you closer. I think we’re in a good place. We all come through it unscathed, touch wood and feel better about it and get healthier and stronger every day.”
With one game recorded, it’s only four weeks until it all gets very real again.
“It’s good to have a clean slate of what happened for most of last season, but it’s still in the memory because we don’t want to be in the same situation again,” he told us. “We all came back hungry and the new guys that came in are hungry too. We’re really excited for the first game because we know we can get it right this year.
“The new lads are brilliant, the dressing room they’ve come in is a really good dressing room in terms of hospitality, they’ve settled in like they’ve been here for a few years. They’ve been great additions and they’re all good guys.
“Personally, my goals last season were to play as much as possible and I had a good chunk of games after a slow start. This year I hope to be able to make this position mine, but everyone else wants to too.
“Hopefully we have a really competitive group and I just want to play as many games as possible and contribute to the team.”
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