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GaryHooper
THEROADAHEAD
Gary Hooper has had something of an uncertain season,
with an earlier move to Hillsborough falling through before
he finally signed last week until the New Year. In this chat
with ‘Wednesday’ ahead of Saturday’s game with Forest,
the man who has scored in every competition he’s played
in to date outlines his hopes for the months ahead.
4. It’s been a stop-start process to get
the loan move sorted out, so how do
you feel now it’s all completed?
Yes, it’s been an ongoing process, but
it’s nice to be here. I’ve spoken to the
gaffer a few times and now I’m here
and training it’s good. There’s a good
bunch of lads and the training is high
intensity so it’s been a good start to
my time here. What the lads do in
training here they take straight into
the game, you can see that with the
work rate they show in games and
it’s something that you need if
we’re to succeed.
Can you tell us why the
move to Hillsborough
didn’t work out in
the first instance?
It didn’t happen
because of
Norwich City, they
said they needed
me and that’s why
it didn’t come
about, nothing
else. There
seemed to be lots
of gossip around at
the time about why
some people thought
it didn’t happen which
wasn’t true at all. I’d had
my medical the last time
when the interest was there,
but it’s as simple as Norwich
pulling me back. So I’m glad to
finally get things sorted and be back
up here. I did get injured shortly after
going back to Norwich too and picked
up an ankle injury for a few weeks,
which obviously wasn’t good, but I’ve
been back in training for the last four
weeks and I’m feeling good now and
back to 100%.
So, what can you tell us about how
the move finally came about?
There were talks at the start of the
week, then I came up on Tuesday and
things just all went through from there,
so it was a day of good news for me
that things were sorted and the team
got what they all wanted too. Arsenal
maybe weren’t at their best but the job
still needed doing and to score three
goals and see the crowd go crazy like
they did was great and it was a good
win. I’ve come here to play games and
score goals but as everyone knows the
main thing is to make sure the team get
three points.
Michael Turner was a team mate of
yours at Norwich, does that make
the move to a new club a little easier
when you know someone?
Originally, I was supposed to sign on
the same day as Michael but it fell
through and his move here came off. I
also know the skipper, Glenn Loovens,
as we were at Celtic together and he’s
a good lad as well so we’ve all had a
good chat and things have gone well.
It’s always nice coming into a new
changing room and already knowing
a few people but the rest of the lads
have been nice too.
What would you say that you offer
to the team that is maybe a little
different to the other strikers
here?
I would say my link-up play is
my strong point, the boys
that have been playing
have done very well
together and it shows
as the team have
been getting some
really good results.
But it’s the gaffer’s
decision. It’s his
choice who plays
and I’ll respect
that as we all do.
I have to train
well and try to
get into the team
and help everyone
get the results we
all need.
You mention the head
coach Carlos Carvalhal,
what has he said to you
since you joined the club?
He’s told me he’s been after me
since day one and of course it’s good
to hear him say he’s wanted me here
for a long time and I’m excited about
the next few months. He wants the
team to play a high pressing game and
good football and that’s been certainly
happening recently.
How eager are you to play a part in
what’s to come over the next few
months?
I’m getting itchy feet because I’ve not
played many games this season. I just
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5. want to play football and score goals. I wouldn’t say I’m
as fit as I could be in terms of match fitness because I’ve
not been playing games but I have been training every
day. At the moment I’m here until 17 January, we’ll go
from now until then and we may talk about whether
things can be extended after that, we’ll have to see. But
the first thing is I’ve got to get into the team, train well
and we need to keep winning games.
How long do you think it will take you to get fully
match fit?
It’s hard to say really, in the Championship there are
a lot of games but I need to get into the team on a
regular basis first which could be difficult as the lads are
playing so well. I know I may have to bide my time, the
gaffer may not want to change things straight away as
there are some good strikers here who are scoring goals
but hopefully I can add to that too.”
Looking a little further ahead, are you able to feature
in the next round of the Capital One Cup?
I can play in the Capital One Cup, Stoke City away will
be a tough place to go but you never know what could
happen, as everyone knows we beat Arsenal 3-0 at
home so we’ll go to the Britannia Stadium looking to
get the win and move forward into the semi finals.
What do you think of the standard of the
Championship this season after playing a big part in
your parent club’s promotion last campaign?
You’ve got some top teams in this division all the way
through the top ten, there’s some big teams who play
good football and I think it’s a division that could be
anyone’s to win at the moment. Having a look at the
rest of the players in training you can see there is a
strong squad here with some very good players and I
think you can see that in what’s happening at the club,
it’s an exciting time. The main thing is playing well,
getting the players confident and winning games. Once
you do that then you’re going to carry on climbing the
table. There’s a big stadium here, with a big fan base
and we need them to keep everyone behind us if we’re
to achieve what we want to do.
46 | Wednesday
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“I was supposed to sign on the same
day as Michael but it fell through
and his move here came off. I also
know the skipper, Glenn Loovens, as
we were at Celtic together”
