Since joining in the summer, striker Dan Roberts has made an immediate impact and seems well on the way to becoming a real fan favourite. His nonstop work ethic, his strong hold-up play and his willingness to drive toward goal with the ball at his feet have already been well noted by the Terras faithful.
But how does a new signing settle into a club who have brought in a number of new faces? Can he deal with the ‘pressure’ of being one of the club’s main strikers? What does it mean to a player knowing the manager has been tracking him for a long time?
We wanted answers to these questions and more, so the Weymouth FC media team sat down with Dan to discuss his start at the club and his targets for the rest of the season.
How have you settled into the team and the system that the gaffer is trying to implement at the club?
“Settling in has been really easy, everyone around the club has been so welcoming and as a group we’ve built good relationships and clicked really quickly which is great.”
“In regards to the system, I think I could tell I would fit what the gaffer wants on and off the pitch so understanding that right from the go has helped a lot too.“
As a striker does it help with confidence to get that first goal early on in the season, and do you feel it sets you up for the rest of the season?
“Definitely, no striker wants to go too long without getting off the mark as it can always add unwanted pressure as games go on, so it was good to be able to get my first against Taunton last Tuesday (15th August).”
A lot of compliments have been said around the fanbase about your work rate and willingness to always chase opportunities that most may think are lost causes, do you think as a striker this has helped your game?
“I think that’s my game to a T, and I’m really pleased the fans have been able to see that early on.”
“I’ll always work extremely hard for the team and chase down anything I feel I’ve got a half chance of getting to, as you never know what can come from it!”
Continuing from the last questions, do you come away from a game that you may not have scored in but found your work rate has led to opportunities for your teammates to score or go on to score feeling that you’ve contributed more to the game than if you had scored?
“If I’ve given everything on the pitch and it helps us to win a game that’s a success for me, goal or no goal.”
“Of course, I’m here to score goals, Nothing beats that feeling but the ugly side is as important too and if it’s contributing to us doing well then I’m just as happy.”
As what most people would see with yourself being the main striker of the club do you thrive off that ‘pressure’?
“I don’t see it like that, pressure is a privilege and for me to be able to wear the 9 shirt and lead the line for this club means a lot.”
“The feeling of importance is only going to benefit you in confidence and performance levels!”
Having been a main target for Bobby for quite some time, as a player how does that make you feel, and does it give you the confidence to go a do that little bit more on the pitch knowing the manager backs your abilities?
“It’s massive, having the backing of the manager not only since we started pre-season but from the first phone call we had is what brought me here in the first place.”
“It definitely gives you that little bit more and I feel full of confidence again and can already see myself slowly getting back to my best.”
Going forward what do you hope to achieve from this season, is it consistency, is it x amount of goals, is it to help contribute to the team?
“Consistent level of performance, give everything every time I’m on the pitch, to contribute as many goals and assists as possible to help the team and with this group, I feel we can achieve great things this year!”
