INTERVIEW: It’s good, but it’s hard work – News

The summer friendlies brought a slight change in the role of defender Jack Armour, who can now be found patrolling up and down the left wing-back position, with what is clear license to move as far forward as possible in support of the attacking game.

Heading into his third season with the club and still just 21, he confirmed after the outing at Morecambe on Saturday that he feels as good as he has after a tough pre-season.

“The first three or four weeks of the summer were really tough, the toughest I’ve seen so far in pre-season, but I feel like we’re a lot stronger going into the season because we’ve come through that,” he said.

“I think if we compare to last year, we are much fitter and stronger. There is a lot more positivity in the camp, especially next Saturday.

“Even though it was a goalless draw, everyone in the dressing room is talking about how we played and it’s all about the good work and stuff like that.

“We’ve just been away, it’s been a great week in Scotland and we’re back and it feels like we’re all in this together. It means we’re all looking forward to the season.”

Speaking more about Morecambe’s draw, he commented: “I think we played well and had a lot of chances. They had one at the break in the first half, but for a pre-season game I think the quality was indicative of what was to come in the season.

“There were fights, Mels got a yellow card, but the standard was decent and everyone was ready. I think it was one of the best pre-season games I’ve been to.

“The pace was good, the standard was good and there was a bit of a gap between the two sides. This is the closest game I’ve played to a league game.

“And it feels really solid in the back. I played 90 minutes on Tuesday against Livingstone and even though we were beaten they only had one shot in the first 80 minutes so it was just one of those games.

“It feels a lot more solid and we have great coverage in midfield as well. We’ve also got Corey coming in and there’s a lot of other players who can do a job and slot in well.”

Regarding his license to get on and off, he commented: “It’s good, but it’s hard work. It’s a lot harder than playing in the middle or even as a normal winger, but it’s really nice.

“I know I should have scored a lot more goals last season and I had chances this summer too and hopefully I can add that to my game. It’s just about getting up and down and scoring a lot of crosses.

“The gaffer keeps telling me to go in at the back stick and I can hear him shouting from the touchline to encourage it.

“You have to get in there to score and it’s the same with crossing the ball, you have to get up there to be able to do it in the first place. And then you have to run back to protect it, so you have to be able to maintain it.

“In the future, the manager may try different formations or different ways of playing and you have to fit into the way he wants to do that. He yells at me to get up and down so that’s all I try to do. We have that depth and there are a lot of people who can step in, so you have to be on your game.”

Playing well brings with it the kind of confidence you just can’t put a price on, and the hope is that a good pre-season will translate into a good start to the campaign.

“There’s a really good vibe to the place,” he agreed. “We are a strong side, we have a good eleven and then there is a lot to come in from the bench. Looking at the season, we should do well.

“We know that everyone is going to work for each other and if one guy doesn’t get there, another guy will cover for him.

“Everyone was around each other during the week in Scotland, you generally live on top of each other but it’s not like you get sick of each other.

“Everybody had a good craic and that’s the team-building thing going on. We had a psychologist come in on Thursday and we talked about what we want to do this season and how we can do it.

“You could see today that everyone worked hard for each other and that’s what happens when you all play for the team.”

Looking back at the end of February, he talked about how the feeling back then was the exact opposite of how the group feels now, with just four days left in the season.

“It was weird,” he told us. “I know there were a few games left after the Swindon game but we were there and it was really grim.

“Even going into training was difficult and then we won six out of seven and the atmosphere totally changed.

“It changed the way everyone thought about going into the games and then it was about making sure we took it this year.

“When we were down we still wanted the fans to support us but we were booed a few times and rightly so.

“We haven’t been doing well but since Simo came in the crowds have been behind us and that definitely helps us.

“They support us even when we are behind and it doesn’t feel like we can get back into the game anymore.” We feel like we’re going to go on and win.

“And working with Simmo was great. Last year we were all trying to figure out how he wanted us to play.

“It’s been a bit difficult at times but this year, with full pre-season, you can hear him shouting down there during the game – get in the back post, protect the back post. It’s hard work, but it pays off and that makes us all happy.”

But now, of course, it’s all Saturday.

“We’re hoping there will be a big crowd because we saw last year when the new gaffer came in that the crowds went up, even away from home,” he said. “There were so many fans traveling all over and the support under Simmo was great. It would be good to see that again and get off to a winning start.

“This is my third year here and I think it’s going to be the biggest season yet. This is another one to improve, another one to play a lot of games.

“I just want it to be positive and we want to be at the top of the table to get promoted.

“I want to play as many games as possible and as a team we want to go up. Like I said, we talked to the psychologist and when we went around the room, almost everyone said we want to get on and why can’t we.

“I think we’ve got a good enough team and it’s just a case of why not us.”

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