Interview with Crawley Town midfielder Antony Papadopoulos

SussexWorld

Crawley Town  face Burton Albion at the Broadfield Stadium in League One on Saturday. We caught up with Antony Papadopoulos who has just returned from a loan spell at Maidstone United

Transcript

00:00Anthony, thank you for joining us. It's been a while since we've spoken to you. You've

00:05enjoyed a very successful loan spell away from the club. Firstly, how good is it to

00:08be back?

00:09Yeah, really good. Looking forward to it, to be fair. It was always a goal of mine to

00:13come back in January. So, yeah, really happy to be back and, yeah, just want to work hard.

00:19As far as loan spells go, it was probably one of the most successful ones you can get.

00:22I think it's always good when the team that you've joined are really asking you to stay

00:27and obviously some of the fans were gutted online when they'd seen that you'd been recalled.

00:30You obviously had a fairly decent start to the season with us, featuring in a lot of

00:34the cup matches. Do you think the loan came at the right time for you to really get some

00:39minutes in for that first part of the season?

00:41I think so, I think so. Yeah, obviously it was under the previous gaffer. He showed a

00:45lot of faith in me going out on loan and stuff and, to be fair, it was just to get minutes

00:48and help Maidstone. They had really good coaching staff there, really pushed me on. It was a

00:54really good loan spell. I couldn't ask for a better club to go to, to be honest. I really

00:59enjoyed it, played well and, yeah, it was actually really enjoyable.

01:02It's probably worked and benefited you in a number of ways because, as you've been performing

01:08so well there, as you said, the new gaffer to come in, he would have seen those performances

01:12obviously keeping an eye on the results and it's given him that thought process to get

01:16you back even earlier than you planned to come back in January. You were meant to start

01:20that first game you come back. You can't really write, can you? How unlucky is that?

01:23I know, I know, I know. To be honest, I didn't even know. I messaged my parents, I think

01:28it was, we found out maybe at half one. So, I messaged my parents straight away. I think

01:32they were going to make their way down, which was funny. It's just one of them ones I've

01:36just got to keep working hard and hopefully the opportunity will come. Whenever we're

01:39training and stuff, I've just got to show what I can do. Obviously, I was thankful for

01:43the opportunity but I'm sure another one will come, hopefully.

01:46Yeah, as you say, you've now got the rest of the season to make that impression on the

01:50new manager. Obviously, you've got a good game to do that. Obviously, you had a little

01:54period to new at Barnsley. Is the aim now just to work your way into the team and get

01:59as many minutes as possible?

02:00Yeah, it is. It was a really big moment for me making my Ligue 1 debut. I was really grateful

02:06for the gaffer, for the opportunity. Obviously, coming back from loan, that was always the

02:10goal, like I said. But yeah, to be honest, keep working hard and hopefully get another

02:15opportunity.

02:16Yeah, and how much are you enjoying your first season in the EFL? Obviously, you dip back

02:20into the National League set-up before. How much have you been enjoying being around the

02:24Football League set-up?

02:25Yeah, it's been really good, to be fair. It's been really good.

02:28Two things going on here, but we're in Norma and a band behind us.

02:30Yeah, yeah. What a way to put me off. Yeah, really enjoyable being back in the Football

02:36League. I remember saying in my interview with you when I first signed that, over the

02:40last few years, it was always my goal to get back into league football. So yeah, I'm taking

02:44it every day as it comes and I don't take this opportunity lightly and I'm really happy

02:48to be here. Yeah, I'll keep working hard in the gym, on the pitch and yeah, just whenever

02:54I get an opportunity, I'm sure I'll take it.

02:56Obviously, you went out on loan with the previous Gaffer and now you've got a new Gaffer. What

03:02are the main differences you've noticed since you've come back?

03:05To be fair, not much. I mean, they've obviously got their different ways of playing, but it's

03:10quite similar, to be fair. They've both shown good faith in me as well, which is good. But

03:16yeah, not too much. They're both really positive. They want to push the club up the table and

03:21I've really enjoyed working under both of them. Obviously, more under the new Gaffer

03:26as well. So yeah, it's been really enjoyable, really enjoyable.

03:29Yeah. And the differences between National League football and stepping up to League

03:34One, is it that bigger step?

03:38Yeah, it is, to be fair. I mean, I've always asked people, actually, that have played higher

03:43up, even last year when I was playing non-league. I've always asked them what their biggest

03:47differences are. To be honest, I think non-league nowadays has gotten so much... There's so

03:53many good players in non-league, I think. That's why you see so many people take the

03:56step up. So it's not too much of a big difference, to be honest. I think the quality does go

04:02up. People are a lot fitter in this league, but it doesn't take away the fact that non-league

04:06is really good. National League, National League South, there's some really good players

04:10in there. So it hasn't been too much of a big difference. But yeah, every level is good,

04:16to be fair.

04:16Yeah. And what would you say to any young footballer who's at a pro club, who's looking

04:21to get some minutes here? I suppose you're a prime example of how it can work for you

04:25going out and loan to a non-league club.

04:27Yeah, just keep working hard. And I think, to be fair, I had a question like this the

04:31other day and I answered it. For me, I think it's just attitude and just discipline. I

04:38think, as a young player, you can have so many things thrown your way, whether it's

04:41managers not liking you or you have your social life as well growing up. I think you just

04:46have to stay disciplined, keep working hard, doing your extra work and just staying with

04:52a good attitude and hopefully you get your opportunity. And when your opportunity does

04:55come, you've just got to take it with both hands.

04:56Yeah. And I think you're quite big on social media right now as well. How much do you enjoy

05:01that? How important is that to you?

05:02It's really good. It's really good. I've been doing it over the last few years. I started

05:07in lockdown. And yeah, I do get quite a lot of questions from young players actually asking

05:11me loads of questions and stuff like that. But I think some people forget I'm a young

05:15player myself. So yeah, I mean, I think I'm quite mature for my age. And to be fair, I've

05:20been in football for over four years now in the men's game. So a lot has happened in

05:25that time. I feel like I'm actually quite experienced already. Obviously, I've still

05:28got so many more years left, but I don't have all the answers. But I try my best. I

05:32try to help as many people as possible.

05:34Brilliant. Thank you.

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