Second part of our Danny Livesey interview
In the second part of our interview with long-serving defender Danny Livesey he talks frankly and openly about what was a difficult season for everyone at the club.
“We know last season was a poor one but I’ve been at the club when we have been in a much worse position,” he said.
“There’s a real determination from all of us to get it right on the pitch next season because ultimately we are the only people who can bring the fans back. If we play well the fans will come to watch, it’s a simple as that.”
And on the cause of the problems, he said: “We conceded far too many goals by any reckoning and we aren’t going to hide away from that.
“We were dead and buried in games far too easily on too many occasions and there is no way we’re going to let that happen again. We know how important it is for the future of the club that we start to perform because we won’t be able to change anything without that part of it being right.”
“It might sound like a daft thing to say after all that but I enjoyed the second half of the season,” he added.
“The results picked up and I think the partnership with Sean [O’Hanlon] has grown for both of us. We need to build on that as much as we can.
“We put in a lot of hard work on the training pitch as a squad when confidence was low and we started to get the reward. The aim now has to be to improve on that even further and to make sure we start notching up the clean sheets. A season like the one just gone is unacceptable and we’re going to make sure we put it right.”
With the poor results, of course, came an increased level of criticism which the big defender admitted was, at times, hard to take.
“It does feel strange because we seem to be getting criticised from every angle possible at the moment and that is tough to deal with,” he told us.
“We’re established in League One, which is good for us, and we’re all as disappointed as anyone that we weren’t able to aim higher last season. I just wish the level of criticism was a bit more measured because there are so many people working as hard as they can to make things better.
“I’m not saying that criticism isn’t justified, because it was and is, and the results and performances meant we brought it on ourselves. I just think the level and type of criticism we’re getting at the moment is actually harming the club.
“When it’s like this you’ll find, if there are any supporters out there in two minds about coming to a game, then they’re more likely to decide not to go off the back of what they see or hear.
“Don’t get me wrong, you won’t find anyone at the club who will accept what happened on the pitch in any way. We need to be better, the results need to be better and our performances need to be better.
“It hurts a huge amount when we concede two or three goals in any game, and nobody feels it more than the lads in the dressing room because we know we’ve let everyone down.
“But if the criticism could be delivered in a less personal and harsh way I just think it would be better for everyone. It’s when times are tough that we need the support of the whole community more than ever.”
Next on the agenda, after the summer break, will be the physical slog that is pre-season.
“I’ve started getting ready for that already,” he told us. “I had a couple of weeks where I did nothing because I think we all need that.
“It’s great to spend some time with the family but it’s always in the back of your mind that the end of June will come around really quickly. The last thing you can do in this game is come back to work playing catch-up. The manager won’t accept that and the rest of the group will kick on and leave you behind.”
“I come back to the fact that everyone is still hurting from last season,” he said, when quizzed about what he wants from the coming campaign.
“I am upset by it and we just can’t let it happen again. We want the fans to be proud of their club and that really is down to us and what we do.
“We have to get it right.”
Click HERE for part one of this interview.
