Doncaster Rovers - Richard Wood interivew: Pt 1 - video Dailymotion

Yorkshire Post

Stuart Rayner interviews Doncaster Rovers' veteran defender Richard Wood, who looks ahead to the 2024-25 League Two season and discusses the team's automatic promotion chances ...

Transcript

00:00It just feels like a really positive place at the moment, you know, since, well really

00:12since February, wasn't it? Things have been on a really steep upward curve and it just

00:17feels like everybody around the club believes you can keep going and go one step further

00:23next season.

00:25That's the aim. I'm hoping so. There's definitely belief in dressing in them. Everybody seems

00:30to know the jobs, what's required, how we play. And we've had some good players in as

00:36well. The Gaffers brought some good players in the squad. So we feel like we're in a good

00:39position and, yeah, we can talk about it, but we just need to make sure we start off

00:45well in the first game of the season and get three points. And it's all about winning games

00:50and collecting points as quick as we can.

00:52Yeah, I mean, the fact that you obviously had such a difficult start last season, does

00:56that sort of focus the mind even more? And we really need to put that right this year?

01:01Yeah, it does. Because the main group from that pre-season and that start of that season

01:06is still with us now. So we've all got memories of that, but we've also got memories of how

01:12we finished the season and the belief is there. So we all know what's required and pre-season

01:17has gone really well, worked really hard. Stats are up massively on last pre-season.

01:24Running stats, high-speed running, intensity, accels, decels that we've got. It's all science

01:28related now. 20-odd years ago, definitely.

01:32Just how much you puked at the end of the run before, wasn't it?

01:35It was. It was. We used to be sick. It was. And that's when we'd stop. But now it's all

01:39data and the data's up massive from last pre-season. So everything's geared for a good season and

01:47we're definitely, mindset-wise, in a good place.

01:49I mean, when Grant came to see us after the crew game and spoke to the media, you could

01:56just see the determination in him. I wonder what it was like as a dressing room? I was

02:01asking Owen the other night and he said it took him and a few of the lads a bit of time

02:06to sort of get over the disappointment and then refocus. How was it from your perspective?

02:12Yeah, a few days. A few days just to reflect on it and how disappointed we were and was.

02:19But I knew that was managers' mindset straight away. He even told us, we're straight on to

02:26automatic promotion next season from that gate. And even at that point, that's what

02:31he said to us after the game. So he wouldn't unlock your lights and dwell on that. It was

02:35just focus shifted straight away to this season, which is what he's like.

02:41Why he's a good manager. But players-wise, I bet it took everybody a fair while. For

02:47me, it were a few days and just trying to focus on my family and summer off then. So

02:54it's like, enjoy time with my children and go and take my focus off football.

02:59Yeah. I mean, obviously you'd already signed your contract, I think, for next season by

03:03then. But if you'd have not been that bothered then, I guess that's the day to give it up,

03:09isn't it? The fact that you felt that hurt and you've obviously had to work through that

03:14before in the past. Is that sort of a sign to you that, yeah, this is still in me, I

03:18still need to keep doing this as a job?

03:21It does. And that's what I'm saying. My mindset's there. You want to play. I want to play every

03:26game. I want to win. I want to get promotion. And that's never going to go away, I don't

03:30think. It's just, can my body keep up to it? And as long as I can put performances in and

03:37keep playing and contribute to the team, that's why I keep going. And when that comes

03:43away, that's when I'll stop.

03:45And do you think it's a realistic ambition to go up automatically this year?

03:50Yep, of course it is.

03:51Well, I was going to say, I mean, the way you played the second half of last season

03:54would suggest that it is.

03:56Yeah, and that's my full intention. And as being when I signed last season, yeah, the

04:01start didn't help. But on reflection now and looking at this pre-season, it's completely

04:06different and the mindset's completely different and the belief's definitely there. So I'm

04:11looking forward to it and hopefully I can contribute a lot to it as well.

04:15Do you think people have learnt a lot, whether it be Grant or you as players, from last season

04:20and the things that went right and wrong?

04:23Yeah, the preparation, what we did in last pre-season to this one is night and day really.

04:29Even though last pre-season, we're probably saying we felt all right at the time, just

04:36looking back at that and what we've done this pre-season, it's been class, to be fair.

04:42It's been hard work, a lot of double sessions, a lot of fitness work, a lot of tactical work

04:48as well, because obviously it comes hand in hand. You need to be right tactically as well.

04:53But everybody knows the jobs, everybody feels comfortable with what we're doing and how

04:57we're playing and training everyday flows really well. So yeah, we're ready for it and we just

05:02need to keep a couple more games to go pre-season and then make sure we're ready and then looking

05:08forward to the start of the season.

05:09Yeah, because I was going to say to you, I mean, Tuesday was the first time I'd seen you since

05:12last season and you sort of came away from that game thinking,

05:16they look ready for it now. I mean, is that the way you feel?

05:20Yeah, yeah, we've been good. There's been no issues pre-season so far.

05:25We look good overnight. The lads played great, some really good stuff.

05:29And it's patterns of play that we've got and little movements we do.

05:33We look really good attacking-wise and it's got some good goals.

Doncaster Rovers - Richard Wood interivew: Pt 1

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