Ma- Your debut for Wednesday came in the 2-0 Defeat away at Southampton last season as a lifelong Wednesdayite yourself how did it feel to be playing for your boyhood club ?
RD- I waited a long time for my debut, so when it came i was determined to make the most of it. Playing for Sheffield Wednesday is a dream come true, not just on my debut but every time i put the shirt on. My debut however was extra special, with it being at a great stadium in front of 20,000 people and live on sky. It's a day i'll never forget and is the proudest day of my life!
Ma- Touching on the previous question what was it like walking out at hillsborough for the very first time was you a bag of nerves or calm ?
RD- I was a lot more nervous playing at Hillsborough than i was on my debut. Maybe because of the league situation we were in and because of the expectance of the crowd (which i believe should be how it is), but again, its a moment ill never forget and getting that buzz of walking out in front of the best fans in the country was amazing and i never lost the buzz as i went on through the games.
MA- After your debut you had a lengthy spell in the first team how did this experience help you as a player ?
RD- The experience of playing in league 1 for a start is brilliant, but to be doing it for the biggest club in the league was amazing and something i tried to take into my stride. I did nothing different from when i wasn't even making the squads and went to Grimsby to play football and in the end it worked. I never lost patience with what i was doing and in the end its a good job i didn't. But i definitely feel more confident for the experience and i'm very very eager to push on again and play for SWFC as many times as possible.
Ma- How difficult is it to maintain good relationships with Nicky Weaver & Aaron Jameson given that they are your direct competion for a place ?
RD- Not difficult at all...all keepers will say the same, although we are playing for one position we are all very very close. We always help each other through everything and stay in touch outside football. Whenever something good happens to the others we are all happy for them and support them through it. So its not difficult to keep a good relationship with any of them.
MA- At 22 years of age you still have a lengthy career left in the game where do you ideally see yourself in 5 years time ?
RD- Ideally, I'd love to be at Sheffield Wednesday playing week in week out. That's the aim. If not, I've got to try do as best i can when i do play to find another club and have a successful career as a number 1. As you say i've got plenty of time to play my games, so at the minute I'm just concentrating on working as hard as i can, playing as many games as i can for SWFC and staying here for as long as i can!
MA- Many wednesdayites will expect the side to make a push for promotion next season do you think we have the right foundations to do this ?
RD- Yeah definitely, we have a manager who is unbelievably passionate about the football club, I think that's massive. He knows how to get the lads going and with a few more players in the summer we will be pushing for promotion and wont accept anything less. We all know what is expected, this club shouldn't be in the third tier of English football and it's up to us to get out of this league and with a good pre-season behind us we will work as hard as possible to achieve this.
MA- Speaking of next season what are your personal targets for next season ?
RD- My personal targets are to play as many games as possible for SWFC this season. I want to push Nicky and Arron as much as possible and i'll have the same work ethic as i always do and work as hard as i can each and every session. We all know that Nicky will be No1 when we go back, that goes without saying, hes a top keeper with bags of experience, but thst doesnt mean that I cant push him and push him and when/if i get my chance ill be ready to take it.
MA - Who are best friends within football and why ?
RD- My best friends are Tommy Spurr, Mark Beevers and Luke Boden. We all came through the academy together and we are still extremely close. Although Luke has gone to America to play football now, we still keep in touch. Besides them three, Rob Burch, Lee Grant, Billy Mercer, Nicky Weaver and Arron Jameson are also very good fiends of mine. Oh, and Liam Palmer as well....forgot about him for a second, he won't mind though :)
MA -Who is your room mate for away games and what bad habits do they tend to have ?
RD- Erm....it depends who travels to the games really but usually the keepers stick together, and luckily the don't have any bad habbits! Although, when i made my debut i roomed with Sean Cuff and it was his first away trip and was nearly his last! he got to sleep before me and started snoring after 5 mins and kept me up, I got more and more wound up so took me a while to get to sleep but i got there eventually! Luckily for him!!
MA- Finally i would like to thank you for your time again it is much appreciated by myself and the viewers of the blog
RD- No Problem, hope its ok!
Richard
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