Fraser: Players Aren't Overawed Sunday, 5th Dec 2021 11:26 Midfielder Scott Fraser has dismissed the suggestion that Town's players may be overawed by playing for the Blues. The Scot, speaking prior to manager Paul Cook’s sacking later yesterday evening, admitted the display in the 0-0 FA Cup draw with League Two Barrow was under par. “A frustrating afternoon but it’s a cup game and if you’re not going to win it, certainly don’t lose it,” he said. Town were particularly flat in the first half and he admitted they were nowhere near their best during the opening 45 minutes. “No, but you’re going to get games like that. We started the game slowly, a bit lethargic for what we wanted to do, we want to be getting a fast start and create an atmosphere in the stadium. I felt in the second half we did that but it’s about starting games like that as well.” Manager Cook pointed out an edginess in the stadium in his post-match comments and while Fraser was aware of it, he says it’s something players ought to be able to deal with. “It was, we felt it. But we’re at a big club, we can’t go under if the fans get on our back,” he said. “They expect us to be doing better. As a group of players, a squad of players, we’re hard on each other, we all signed here for the same goal, we want to be successful, we want to play for a big club and move this club on. “It’s been on a spiral it doesn’t want to be on for too long now. We came here to change that and we need to keep working hard to do that.” Does he understand where fans were coming from? “As players, we know football. We wouldn’t like to pay our money to come and watch a team that’s playing slow. “I think in the second half, we created more and we created more because of the tempo of our play. It was better. “We’ve shown in games this season that when we up the tempo we’re better than a lot of teams.” What’s that down to? “It can be down to a lot of things. Players come in, players go out. As I say all the time, we’ve got a very, very strong squad here, so whoever you put in you expect to go and win games. “All we can keep doing is keep working. It’s been spoken about how new we are, you can only keep saying that for so long. We’re getting to the stage now where need to start clicking, and I’m sure we will.” Does he feel anyone in the changing room is overawed by playing for Town? “No, not that I’ve seen. It’s obviously new for a lot of players, including myself. When fans are getting on you, have got that bit about you that you can go and get on the ball, say ‘Give me the ball, make things happen, I’ll go and do it’. That’s what we try and instil into all the boys in the changing room.” Has it got to come from you boys first? “One hundred per cent. The gaffer works incredibly hard on the training ground. The coaches, the gaffer. “We had a positive meeting yesterday a positive chat before the game there and it’s up to us as players to create the atmosphere in the stadium for the fans. “It wasn’t a full house today but we still need to go and make the fans believe and get excited and I think we did that in the second half at times.” Fraser, one of Cook’s 19 summer signings having come in from MK Dons in the close season, says with hard work going on in training and games coming thick fast it’s been relentless lately. “It has been, whether that’s video meetings, shape on the training ground, we do work incredibly hard. “The gaffer and the coaches leave no stone unturned for what we need to do, so it’s up to us as players to carry that through.” He added: “I’ve said it before, the gaffer can only do so much, he can’t play the game for us. He sets us up, he’s obviously been successful most places he’s been and I’m sure if we keep working hard he’ll bring that success here.” Regarding his own form this season, he reflected: “It’s been a bit up and down. Just trying to help the team, whether it’s playing out wide or playing central. “I switched today from the left to central. We’ve got 25, 26 very good players, especially at this level so whenever you get in the team you’ve just got to get your head down and get in the team.” Fraser says that while his versatility means he’s shifted from one role to another, it has a positive side. “It’s always a good thing as well,” he said. “It means that the gaffer can squeeze me in somewhere. As I said, the strength of the squad here allows for that, allows you to go and play in certain positions. “The way we play, if I do play on the left, I’m not playing as a winger, he tells me very much to play inside the game and let the full-back bomb on. “That’s something I need to get better at in terms of, I don’t know if it’s trusting each other, but really just forcing the passes forward and getting what the gaffer calls the flair players, the three behind the strikers, supplying them, whether that’s me being the deeper one supplying the three behind. I think once we do that we can only win games.” He added: “I’ve had so much focus on my position ever in my career so far. As I said, I’ll keep my head down wherever the gaffer wants me to play. “As I said, it’s about having a bit about you to go and get on the ball and make things happen at a club like this. “It’s the reason I’ve come here. It’s the reason I could have gone to other clubs, but coming here and playing in 20,000 and say ‘I’m going to be a big a part of why we’re successful’. “We can all be down, it can all be doom and gloom but we’re still in the FA Cup, we’ve got three massive games coming up. Look forward and look positive.” Fraser says he’s confident 11-goal striker Macauley Bonne will soon be back among the goals having gone six games without netting, while he was impressed by Joe Pigott’s display from the bench. “I think Pigs was really good when he came on today, showed a lot of energy and was incredibly unlucky with the strike he had that the goalie saved, which was an unbelievable save. And Macca, I’m not worried about Macca, he’ll score soon.” Fraser linked up with young full-back Bailey Clements on Saturday, the academy product having forced his way into the team over the last month. “It’s something that we’ve been working on in training this week,” the 26-yearold continued. “He’s obviously a young lad that’s come in with Hayden [Coulson] injured and Matt Penney having picked up an injury before. “Bailey’s come in, he’s taken his chance, he’s been excellent. I think young Cam [Humphreys] was really good when he came on on that left side. “The way the gaffer asks us to play, similar to myself, I see myself as a central player. If I’m asked to play on the left I don’t play as a winger. “I think Cam did well when he came on, he just needs to keep his head down working hard in training or with the U23s or whatever it is.” He added: “I said before there’s only so long you can say you’re brand new but then I’ve never played with Bailey before, so that’s brand new now. “You need a couple of games to get a bit of rhythm, to get a bit of understanding, to know where I’m going to be, to know where he’s going to be. “That seems to be how it is at the minute. We work incredibly hard in training every day to try and get these partnerships right.” The Blues are at Charlton on Tuesday, Wigan on Saturday, then travel to Barrow for the FA Cup replay, before Sunderland visit with that game set to be close to a sell-out. “Big games, you come to a big club to play in big games,” Fraser continued. “Charlton versus Ipswich on a Tuesday night. They’re going well with a new manager [caretaker Johnnie Jackson], I think it’s a game that will suit us, especially at their place, they won’t be able to sit back from their fans.”
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