Dan Platt Interview
It’s Play-Off Semi-Final time tomorrow, and to build up to the occasion, we caught up with record appearing goalkeeper Dan Platt.
Platty featured in all but one of our 51 games so far this season, and shared with us his thoughts on qualifying for the play-offs, the season as a whole, and the big game!
Feelings of making the play-offs
“It’s a good feeling. We set our sights at the start of the season, and now ultimately we have a chance to go out and achieve those goals. It ended up being a bit tight in the end to get in there, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you get in, as long as you do. It’s a success either way, and all we have to do is get ready for the game and enjoy it.”
Feelings of playing in the game at the weekend
“Obviously we took control early in the game, and didn’t let them have much of the ball. We played well, had 90% or so of the possession, and scored five goals. We always knew that it was going to be a tough game when your expected to win, and the pressure that came with knowing we had to for a chance at finishing in the top 5. We made sure we stamped our authority early, and that Sudbury were never able to get into the game.”
Awareness of the other scores while playing
“We didn’t know what was happening elsewhere in the first half, but obviously at half-time we were fed information. In the second half, I had a few mates who came to the game and stood behind my goal, and they were just giving me all the inside information as the games were going on. At the end of the day though we just had to do our job, and remain focused for the 90 minutes. Get our side of it done and then it was up to what happened in other games, and in the end we sneaked in.”
Balancing performances with motivation
“It goes hand in hand with myself. When I’m helping others, motivating them, and trying to be a leader in the changing rooms it makes me play better. I’ve always been vocal, even when I was younger. It’s just the way I have been brought up to help others. The more I do it, the more switched on I am, and the more confident and concentrated I am on my own game and it almost becomes like an auto pilot game.”
The reaction to Stourbridge game last month
“The reaction has been good. Obviously there was big disappointment, not just for us but the whole club really. Fans, volunteers, chairman, staff, everyone, the game was a huge disappointment. It’s taken time over the season to build a team we would have liked to start the campaign with, but I think Russ has done a very good job to bring players in to improve us. We are at the best we’ve been all season at the moment, at a crucial time as well. I don’t think you’d change the team now, out of all the players we’ve had this is the best team we have got now. We go into tomorrow really strong, in some decent form, and with the motivation from last season’s semi-final defeat to correct tomorrow.”
Feelings ahead of the play-offs tomorrow
“There are no nerves, I’m just really excited. If you said to me that I could play the game now, I would. The waiting around is killing me. I’m just ready to go and get stuck in. I can’t wait. It will be a good game, but also a tough one. We know Spalding are a good team and we had two good games against them. We probably should have had more points than we have got against them this season with the way the games played out. It’s the way it is though they are a good side on their day, but I also think the same applies to us. The game will be decided on who is best on the day. We just have to make sure we turn up, work hard, stick to the principles that have got us to where we are particularly recently, and try and bring home the win.”
The aftermath of last season’s semi-final
“I think we have to draw on that feeling we felt last year of the disappointment in the loss to Telford. Drawing on whether we could have done anything different, done something a little bit more, worked a little bit harder, maybe managed the game a bit better. If the answers to those are yes, which they are based on certain moments of the game, then we have to learn and put that into practice on Wednesday. It might be that we have to work as hard as we can, and manage the game better. That’s what we didn’t do against Telford when they scored two just before half-time. If we’d managed the game until the break, and let the gaffer do what we does at half-time, it may have got us through that game. There’s a bit of everything when you have emotional high stakes games. It’s all about pushing through and getting into that final. There is a bit more experience now in the group. A lot of us have been together for a while. Hopefully what happened last season can stand us in good stead for tomorrow.”
Message to the Yeltz fans
“The fans have always been fantastic to me personally, and always been fantastic for the football club. To see where we have come from all those years ago is amazing. A couple of years ago we were playing in front of 200, and now we are packing out the stands for every game. It’s not even just the home games, but also the ones away, we always bring a good backing. I hope there will be loads of them tomorrow, sticking with us, and supporting us all the way like always. We will try our best on the pitch to bring home the success.”