Gerken Has No Problem With Fans' Criticism Tuesday, 20th Oct 2015 06:00 Town goalkeeper Dean Gerken says he has no problem with the criticism of supporters aimed at him and his colleagues during the team's recent slump in form. Gerken said: "I'm used to the booing and everything like that. It's not a problem for me because the fans pay their money to come in and if they want to boo they can boo. “It's not a nice thing to hear but fundamentally you have to stay strong because it's your performance that's going to stop them from booing. “Mentally, you have to be inside your own little bubble and not let things like that affect you. You need to be consistent and doing things right will stop the booing.” Asked if it would have affected him more when he was a young, up and coming keeper at first club Colchester, the 30-year-old replied: "If I look back at my career the best year that helped to thicken my skin, if you like, was when I was relegated from the Championship with Colchester. It was a hard season and we had some tough times that year. "That kind of experience matures you as a player. Although I wish we had never been relegated and things had gone better for us that year it does strengthen you as a player and especially as a goalkeeper. You're the last line of defence and everyone is critical of every goal you let in. "The main thing is to enjoy your football - you're out there to enjoy it and to play as well as you can - and hopefully prove to people that you are there to do a good job. “I'm fairly happy with my own form but we're here to win games and being a goalkeeper I want to keep clean sheets, which we haven't been doing often enough. "I'm always going to be critical of myself and want to do better. We’ll build upon Saturday's result against Huddersfield and I don't want to be conceding goals.” Despite Town's current form - just one win in seven league games as they head for Hull tonight - Gerken has been given a huge thumbs-up by boss Mick McCarthy, who has kept faith with the man he signed on a free transfer in July 2013 following a trial after his contract at Bristol City had expired. Gerken added: "He's always been loyal - that's the good thing about playing for the gaffer, he'll always back you up no matter if you have a blip because he knows what you can do. I appreciate that from him and I think a lot of the other players appreciate it from him. "You don't get consistency without being put in the team even when you are having a blip. I'm thankful for that from him and the same goes for a lot of the other players too. It helps us as a group and as individuals.” Meanwhile, Gerken has lavished praise on Town's four senior strikers, even if they have been unable to reverse recent form and last season's 27-goal top Championship marksman Daryl Murphy is still waiting to break his duck for the current campaign. Gerken said: "In shooting practice Freddie, Brett, Didzy and Murph can knock you for six. The quality they've got is brilliant and it helps to make you better as a goalkeeper. It can also give you confidence because if you do shut them out, which all the keepers are trying to do, you also know how they can cause damage on match days." Tonight's opponents have responded positively to last season's relegation from the Premier League, climbing to seventh in the Championship, losing just twice in 11 league games and also remaining unbeaten at home as they attempt to regain their top-flight status at the first time of asking. Gerken added: "Their manager, Steve Bruce, is brilliant and everyone knows that. He's a proven manager both here and in the Premiership. When you look at their team on a bit of paper you think to yourself 'They've played a lot of Premier League games, let alone Championship games'. "We're not going there thinking we are the underdogs. We'll go up there to put our game on them and put them under as much pressure as we can. The onus is on them - they are the home team - but we've got a game plan, we're going to stick to it and we've got good players. We'll go there and expect to do good things."
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