Johnson: We'll Not Be Sitting Ducks Friday, 23rd Aug 2024 06:00 by Kallum Brisset Town defender Ben Johnson says the Blues will attempt to take the game to Manchester City this weekend and will not go out ‘to be sitting ducks’. Following last weekend’s defeat to Liverpool at Portman Road, Town face another huge test as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face a City side who have won the last four Premier League titles. The Blues know they are in for one of the toughest matches they’ll play all season, with Pep Guardiola’s side having gone 44 home matches without defeat and having won each of their last 10 games in the Premier League. Johnson believes Town’s difficult opening two matches of the season will stand them in good stead, though, and says the Blues won’t be out to shut up shop in order to get a result. “It was good that we played Liverpool last week so they’ve got that exposure ready to play against arguably the best team in the world,” he said. “We’re playing them away so it’s going to be a bit different, but I feel like last week to this week we’ve definitely learned a lot and I believe we’ll be able to make strides this week in preparation for Saturday. “Man City are a brilliant team, everyone knows how good they are and it’s about going up there and trying to do as best we can. It’s about not being sitting ducks, being aggressive, on the front foot and try and take the game to them. “They’ve played against teams that maybe are very defensive, and of course you have to be defensively minded, but also with the idea to attack as well and actually test their midfield and backline. So it’s going to be a great test for the boys playing at Man City. “It’s going to be hard, of course, but every game in the Premier League is difficult and brings different challenges. This one so early in the season is a good opportunity for us.” Of all of Manchester City’s talented players, one in particular that many will be focusing on is striker Erling Haaland. The Norwegian has scored an incredible 91 goals in his 100 matches for the club, including 64 goals in 67 matches in the Premier League since his arrival in Manchester two years ago. Johnson said: “There’s so much media now around players. I know Haaland’s the best striker in the world, but he is just a centre-forward. “He’s someone that we want to defend as well as we can, we know he’s got so many qualities. Of course, his goalscoring is the one that he is best at, but he has so many other brilliant attributes that so many teams have tried to stop for the last couple of seasons and it’s proved tricky. “Again, we’re going to go there and do the best we can. Everyone knows we do analysis on players and on previous games and we are going to try and use a game plan that works, but of course they’re world class players. You just need to make sure that you’re always alert and always on the ball, that is the difference. “When you’re going to Man City, there are times where they could win 5-0 or they could outplay you, but there’s so many games where they win 1-0 and it’s a goal that they’ve practiced on the training ground or scored so many times but it’s 1-0, three points and it’s forgotten about. “That psychology is important, just staying alert all of the time, making sure we defend well and strong and go there and take the game to them.” In February 2019, Johnson made his senior and Premier League debut at the Etihad for West Ham United. He has since gone on to play 70 Premier League matches, making him one of the most experienced top-flight players in the Town squad. It was former City boss Manuel Pellegrini who handed Johnson his debut, tasked with dealing with Riyad Mahrez in an unfamiliar left-back position, something Johnson believes helped him develop as a young player at the age of 19. “We had injuries and left-back was a position I had never played before,” he explained. “It was my first time playing against probably the best City team – I know they won the treble a couple of years ago but that was the best team I believe they’ve had. So it was a test for me as a young man and I believe I stood up to the test. “It was a great experience and that’s really helped me in my development to be able to play against the best and want to play against the best. I do feel that you can only test yourself against the best players in the world, not wanting to shy away from that, do as well as you can and actually excel in those difficult moments. “It’s going to be another hard test for the boys on Saturday but it’s going to help us so much this season to play the two best teams in the league so early on and learn so much from it to take into our Premier League journey.” Now 24, Johnson is enjoying his first time away from east London having spent his entire career at the Hammers prior to moving to Suffolk earlier this summer. He says the intensity of play in the Premier League is clear to see, admitting that pre-season was all about preparing for the level the division requires. He said: “Pre-season has really prepared me and the boys for the high demands of the Premier League. The best way for us to have a good season is for us to stay with the principles that have been here for the last couple of years. “With those running stats and high intensity stats, I feel like now you need to be able to press regardless of who you play in the right areas. “There’s always a time to defend and sit off, but there is a time now for the majority of the game where you need to try and press the other team and make sure you put the right pressure on them in the right areas to regain the ball. “You can see the results from League One to the Championship to now, having the highest stats in gameweek one shows the trajectory we’re trying to go. “Hopefully we can maintain that over the course of the season and I’m sure those stats will relate to the points at the end of the season.” Johnson’s debut for the Blues came off the bench against Liverpool last weekend, something he says he was delighted to be apart of on such a special day for the club. “It felt great,” he reflected. “Again, that was another reason to make the move. It was a new experience for me but also for the club having not been in the Premier League for 22 years. The experience and the buzz around for the first game was always going to be immense. “Being able to play at Portman Road in front of a full crowd against one of the best teams in the league was just a great feeling for me and something I want to have more of a taste of and more of a regular taste of as the season goes on. “The fans are brilliant, they’ve made me feel welcome, they’ve been very supportive. To put the blue shirt on, I thought it looks very good on me, to be honest. “It’s been so good, of course the result was a negative one but there were so many positives to take and I feel like there’s definitely a silver lining in that result and we can use that to our benefit this season and will on Saturday with a great test.” Leaving West Ham in the summer was clearly a difficult decision for Johnson to make, especially since it has been reported that he was offered a new long-term contract at the club. Speaking on that switch, Johnson said: “Of course it was a huge decision. It was pretty nice and I think it was mutual. The fans understand that, the club will understand that and me and my family as well. “So there is no bad blood between me and West Ham, I always want them to do well and hopefully they want me to do well and establish my career here. “I had a great period of time there growing up from a boy to a man, giving me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and set me up for my career. Again, I look back with fond memories now and wish them all the best.” Johnson comes from a footballing family, with former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ledley King and former Manchester United full-back Paul Parker both being cousins, as well as former England internationals. While acknowledging it is nice to have their support, the Blues defender says neither of them interfere with his own career. He said: “[Ledley King] lets me do my own thing, it’s my career which I need to take control of. He’s given me advice in the past in previous situations, but we didn’t speak in the build-up to making this move, he only sent me a congratulations about it. He just wants my career to blossom and show what I can do. “I don’t [ring them up]. They left me to play and have my own career. Ledley’s working with Spurs and Paul’s doing his own thing in journalism and reporting on games. There’s not really much time to be asking them so many questions or phone calls. “They know how probably from when they played to me playing now is completely different. They just want me to do as well as I can, so they don’t put pressure on me or speak to me, they just let me do my thing and get on with it. “It's a proud thing for me to have that type of calibre of player in my family, both of them. It’s good for me, that brings me confidence and is something that inspires me to want to emulate them.” Finally, recent arrival Kalvin Phillips is a player Johnson knows from West Ham, where the Manchester City loanee spent time at towards the end of last season. He said: “I’ve not really gone in depth to speak to him like that. We all know he’s a brilliant footballer. We know what he’s capable of, he’ll be a brilliant signing for us. I’m sure he’s going to come in and do really well.”
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