Leigh: Those Are the Games That Are Going to Be Massive For Us This Season Wednesday, 17th Aug 2022 10:12 Wing-back Greg Leigh believes coming out on top of tough, physical games like last night’s 1-0 victory at Burton Albion is going to be massive for Town this season. Marcus Harness’s goal on the hour, the forward’s third in three league games, saw the Blues to victory against the club where he started his career but the Brewers’ direct, battling approach meant it was a tough evening for Leigh and his teammates. The summer free signing, who left Morecambe at the end of last season, was delighted with the victory which moved the Blues a point clear at the top of League One. “Really excited, those are the games that are going to be massive for us this season,” he said. “Really important that when you get games that are going to be tough, physical, a little bit tighter, where you’re not scoring in the first five minutes, 10 minutes, first half of the game, that you dig in and you see the game out. You get your goal and you hang onto it and you get the three points and get yourself up the road. “I think definitely in the second half we grew into the game and played our football a lot more and we’ve got a lot of players going forward that want to get the ball down and make runs and find passes and create chances in a footballing way, and it’s always going to be difficult for teams to hold us for 90 minutes.” Regarding goalscorer Harness, another of this summer’s new recruits, the 27-year-old smiled: “He’s in flames! I’m surprised they dropped off him the way he’s been playing. Delighted for him, his finishes have been quality as well and he’s come in with quality, wants to get in the box, wants to shoot from distance and and he’s got some decent finishes. Three in three - quality.” The game could hardly have been more different from Saturday’s far more flowing and fluent 3-0 victory over the MK Dons at Portman Road. “No, not at all,” Leigh said. “The league has that in it. It’s League One at the end of the day. You’ve got teams who want to play, they get the ball down, play some football and press and you’ve got teams who want to get the ball in your box and make it scruffy and scrappy. “We had to stand up to every challenge that’s going to be thrown at us and that’s going to be really important throughout the season because there are so many teams that do that, and I think we did think we did that well tonight. “History shows that the teams that go up have the ability to do both. If you’re going to go up, you’re going to have to defend your box, you’re going to have to not concede goals because these 1-0 wins, you’re effectively turning 0-0s into 1-0s, 1-1 draws you turn into 1-0s and showing that resilience is massive in these situations. “Saturday was very important but today was equally as important and they’re both three points.” The role of wing-back was very different in the two games: “Massively, but the good thing about the side and the squad is that we’ve got players who are versatile, we’ve got players who can do both. “It’s League One, so you’re going to get those two but at the same time we’ve got experienced League One players who know the league, who see the challenge we’re up against and go, ‘OK, we know this isn’t going to be a game where we’re going to be playing, but we’re going to stand up to the challenge of heading balls out of our box, clearing everything, blocking everything’. “It was evident from minute one that they weren’t trying to play, so as much as it’s nice to play football it’s important in these games you really stand up to the challenges that are ahead.” Last season the boot was on the other foot during his time with Morecambe, who were the ones often trying to make life difficult for their opposition. “Yes, although early doors we played a bit of football, which was nice,” he recalled. “But definitely towards the end, especially when it gets to crunch time, you know you’ve got to see out games, you’re going to come up against teams who just want to put it in your box, the likes of Wycombe and Rotherham were like that last year. “And then you’re playing against people like Ipswich as well last year. You’ve got to really focus in because teams want to pick you apart and play the ball around you and in behind you and really play their way in. “We know that’s what we’re going to come up against this season but it’s important that every position stays locked in, focused and knowing how they’re going to play, how they’re going to try and get their goals today. “But at the same time we can stand up to the challenge we can stop people scoring and we’ve done that in the last two games and we can hopefully carry that on.” Leigh was making his first league start for the Blues having come off the bench in the previous three matches as well as starting the Carabao Cup defeat to Colchester. “Obviously something that I’ve wanted for a while but at the same time it’s important to come into the team and keep the momentum going,” he said. “What’s that, three wins on the bounce? That was something that was important for me coming into the team to make sure we kept going. The whole squad’s going to be important so just happy to get a start.” Leigh had had an impressive pre-season but Leif Davis, who had just been signed from Leeds for £1 million, was given the nod to start on the opening day against Bolton. But Leigh says he understood that decision. “Yes, that’s football at the end of the day,” he reflected. “The main thing is the squad. We had a really good pre-season and everyone understood that you’d have different roles for different players and the main thing for me is to be 100 per cent committed and 100 per cent focused on my game, getting better and doing what I can for the team. “A game like today is obviously when I’ve got an opportunity and suits me as a player, so having that opportunity to come in and show a bit more physical prowess and the things I want to show and do well at is something that I relish and something I was looking forward to doing and to get the three points was an added bonus.” The Sale-born full-back says it’s important for all the squad to be able to come straight into the side when called upon. “Anyone who is not in the starting XI at this point, it’s important to be ready,” he said. “I think it’s going to take a team effort, the teams that go up, the teams that went up last year, the season before, any team that goes up, it takes the whole squad. “It was important that everyone stays ready, everyone stays fit, everyone stays switched on and sharp and that’s all that I wanted to do coming into the game, that I’d stayed on top of myself.” The one-time Manchester City trainee had praise for keeper Christian Walton, who put in another hugely impressive performance at Burton. “Quality. When you’ve got somebody behind you [like him, it does give you confidence],” he continued. “He’s loud for starters but also you know you’re going to get someone who is pulling off saves, that has perhaps dug us out of a sticky situation, but he’s just got that quality and that shot-stopping ability to say ‘Right boys, I’m going to take care of this’. “You want to call him into action as little as possible but at the same time it does give you that confidence having someone between the sticks who really knows what he’s doing.” Are there lots of communicators and leaders in the squad beyond skipper Sam Morsy? “I’d say that a lot of the boys have a lot of experience and a lot of the boys have a loud voice. “When we have first halves like we did today where we perhaps have to dig in, the changing room is a place where people are loud and find that personality to come out and play the second half and really show what we can do as a side. “It’s massive for everyone to try and show that personality because we’ve got a lot of experience and going into these games it’s important for everyone to have a voice and everyone to lead. Everyone has different skills and everyone showing that in games like this is massive and really gives a boost to the whole squad.” Leigh says he’s settled into the club really well since signing towards the end of June: “Really happy. For me, it was really about finding a place to improve, to find a place to play football that would suit me but also somewhere I could be a help the squad, a help to the side. “And coming here and seeing what quality we’ve got in the building, the way we do things, it really suits my style in the way that I like to work but also the way that I want to learn. “And there are so many people I can learn from at this club, the gaffer and coaching staff, the players, and they’re also just great people, nice people, really settled in well and everyone’s been so welcoming. For me, it couldn’t have been a better decision.” Leigh believes he has already progressed as a player since joining Town: “I’d say so. When you give 100 per cent you’re always going to improve and I think that for me I really want to take the small details and make my game better as I go. I’ve always wanted to do that and it’s difficult to do that in certain sides I’ve been in. “But I think this side is one that suits me well because all the boys want to learn, all the boys want to get better and they want to put in 100 per cent every day, every game. I think when you’re around that environment you can only get better.” The players seemed to enjoy the victory every bit as much as the fans at the Pirelli Stadium and he believes coming through challenges like last night’s build a squad’s character. “It’s obviously great to play teams off the pitch and win comfortably but at the same time these are the games that really grow that team spirit,” the Jamaica international added. “When you’re digging in, when you’re in the trenches together, those are the games where you look back and think that while it wasn’t a nice day, wasn’t a lovely experience but at the same time we did it together, we dug in and when you work that hard and get three points, that’s the difference.” The Blues are heading into Saturday’s game at Shrewsbury with momentum following the three successive league wins and position at the top of the League One table. “Three wins on the bounce is huge for any side and also the two clean sheets,” he said. “I don’t think the team achieved that last year, but at the same time we take each game as it comes. “I think it’s important that we look at each game individually and we look at the team we’re playing against, how can we impose our style, how can we stop their style of play and just take it like that. “As much as it’s really good to get the win, we take the win and then we focus on the next game and really try and get another three points. And the next one and the next one.”
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