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Sears: Tough Start But I Wouldn't Change a Thing
Tuesday, 17th Mar 2015 14:16

Town striker Freddie Sears admits his Premier League bow came earlier than he had anticipated — but he is adamant he wouldn’t have had it any differently.

Hornchurch-born Sears, now 25, was given his debut by boyhood favourites West Ham in March 2008 and managed to mark the occasion with a goal in a 2-1 top-flight home win over Blackburn Rovers (see photo above).

He recalled: “I’m not sure if it all happened a bit quickly for me but in football things just happen at certain times. I scored on my Premier League debut at 18 for the team I support so I wouldn’t change that for anything.

“It probably did come a bit earlier than expected and it’s tough, having had a taste of it, when over the next couple of years or so you are in and out of the team.

“But at a big club like West Ham there are a lot of new players coming in and the strikers I was competing with back then were Craig Bellamy, Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole.

“You can’t have any complaints if you are not holding down a regular place in the first team but I still loved my time there. Now I’m enjoying the fact that I’m with a club at the top end of the Championship and trying to get back up to the Premier League.

“I learned a lot from players like Bellamy and Ashton because I worked with them quite a lot. It has all helped to make me better and stronger to what I am now as a footballer. No disrespect to Colchester, but I went there to play games, even if it was down a level.

“It was always on my mind that I wanted to make the step up again in the future. There was a bit of interest from clubs in me this season and I think it has all worked out well for me. I’m certainly happy with where I am now.”

Sears has scored four Championship goals since crossing the Essex-Suffolk border in January to add to the 14, 10 of which were in League One, he netted earlier in the season for his former club.

He added: “The quality is a lot different in this league and it’s tougher too. But I feel as if I’ve coped well with it and also coped with the demands of the 90-minute games.

“I’ve played two 90 minutes now and I think the gaffer’s been pleased with me. That’s what I have to keep doing and keep pushing, working hard and try to get the team to where it wants to be.

“The biggest difference I’ve noticed is the quality. There are better players in the Championship and it’s maybe a bit more physical. There are good defenders at this level and it’s more difficult to break teams down.

“League One is a good league with quality but you can tell there’s a step-up going into the Championship. I’m just enjoying it, testing myself every week against new players and new teams.”

Sears has caught the eye with his intelligent, well-timed runs and in the absence of the injured David McGoldrick he has formed a strike partnership with 23-goal Daryl Murphy that has pleased manager Mick McCarthy.

He said: “I think making runs is something that comes quite naturally to me but obviously I also work on that sort of thing a lot in training. I’m a fast player and I like to play on the shoulder of the last defender. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t, but luckily enough I’ve been onside more than I’ve been offside.

“I’ve just got to keep going, keep working on that part of my game and hopefully get a few more goals before the end of the season. The thought of Didzy coming back in the near future is a very exciting one. I’ve been disappointed that I haven’t had an opportunity to play alongside him.

“We’ve seen him in training and how well he’s been doing so it would be great to have him back in the mix and adding to the competition for places in the squad.”

Asked if he, Murphy and McGoldrick might work well together, should manager McCarthy opt for a 4-3-3 formation in any of the remaining games, Sears replied: “That’s up to the manager but I’d love that to happen. It would be a good option for me but at the end of the day it’s down to the manager and what he thinks is best for the team.”


Photo: Action Images



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Beattiesballbag added 14:27 - Mar 17
I bet he'd appreciate it if they could find someone who could pass the ball to him on the ground instead of in the bloody air all the time!
5

manualthetisfanclub added 14:34 - Mar 17
Play it in behind,not constantly looking up in the air for the customary hoof ball from the back 4!😉
2

Lightningboy added 16:11 - Mar 17
Another great signing,not sure how he'd cope in the prem if we went up (probably ok actually)..but if we are in this division again next season then he should be one of the first on the team sheet every week..great little player.
0

bluesince84 added 16:52 - Mar 17
agree Lightning boy an excellent little player. and offers somthing totally different than wood and varney, who on current form are crap. the problem i suppose is that if he doesnt score in the first 60 mins he gets taken off so the others ( who have stronger necks) have a better chance of doing something looking up at the heavens which is where the ball usually come from.


My advice to sears, dont do to well, keep the ball off the ground, and youll keep your place. Play football at your peril
1

dirtydingusmagee added 17:33 - Mar 17
good little player, credit to him he has been working hard since joining Town,but he can only be as good as the service he gets . Come on lads sort it out . Last chance hotel tonight i fear , lose this and season is over . COYB .
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smithy0981 added 17:54 - Mar 17
I totally agree dirtydingusmagee this is a must win game tonight if we are to reach the play offs. If we can't beat Bolton then we certainly won't beat watford or Bournemouth in the next 2 games based on our form of late! so potentially we could loose 3 in a row!
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WorcesterBlue added 18:45 - Mar 17
Great little player with loads more to come. Along with Bishop, Bru, Dids, Murph and Ambrose (and presumably Connolly as well we have a really good bunch of footballers who can work hard AND play passing football. Play them and a balanced back four and we might just turn a few heads and prove a few people wrong. But unfortunately Mick despises full backs (has never played them prefers likes of Chambers, Zubar, Elukobi and Mings) and creative midfielders, is seemingly blind to the fact Skuse offers no shield to the defence or creative influence for the forwards and has failed to sign a commanding keeper (capable also of rolling the ball out to his defenders). Sad but true. However, despite this I think we're still in with a chance of play offs and wouldn't it be great to knock the carrot crunchers out?
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