Ahead of United's final away game of the season, captain Paul Digby sat down to discuss life with the U's...
On a impressive run of away results…
“We’ve had some very memorable away days recently; we’ve put in some good performances and it was nice to get some very good wins. There have been some very tough games though and we know, as we’ve experienced at points in the season, if we don’t turn up we’ll get found out.
“The manager told us that we ran the furthest we’ve ran all season at Wigan last week as a team and individually I did too. You have to put in so much effort against these big teams if you are to get a result.
“We’ll need to do the same at Sunderland. They’re another big team in a big stadium and we’re all looking forward to it.”
On learning lessons after the defeat at Hillsborough...
“I spoke to a few people after the Sheffield Wednesday game just hoping that we all would have learnt lessons from the defeat, and it looks like we have.
“We’ve got to start games really well and play with a real aggression and intensity. I think we were two down after the first ten minutes at Hillsborough. We’ve started really well in games recently and hopefully we can continue to do so.”
On adding more to his game…
“You just keep learning as the season goes on, obviously we’ve played nearly every team twice now and we’ve faced so many different tactics and styles – and you do just pick up different parts from different teams. You have to adapt your game so much.
“We’ve adapted so well as a team to a new division and that’s a credit to everyone’s attitude. Everyone has such an open mind and are so eager to learn, and that’s perhaps why so many have exceeded their own expectations this season.”
On captaining the side…
“I just be myself really! There’s obviously different responsibilities being captain, but I’ve really enjoyed it.
“I’ve done a bit of coaching with Jimmy [Unwin] and the under 18’s and that’s been fantastic. I’m really grateful they’ve allowed me to do a little bit of coaching. I’d like to eventually do all my coaching badges and go into that in the future.
“I just love football and I love playing, obviously my main aim at the moment is playing but I enjoy coaching too, so maybe that’s something for the future.”
On life at United since joining…
“I’m really enjoying it, I’ve been here nearly two years now and I’ve enjoyed every moment. Football’s one of those things though, you can’t rest on the things you’ve achieved, you have to be hungry for more, and hopefully we can push on further.
“You’ve always got those expectations and you want to be at your best, that’s the nature of football and hopefully I can keep improving.”