Sheffield United vs Burnley

UTB 17
UTB: You are no stranger to
the region, but who is the former
Blade who you are currently
sharing an apartment with in
Sheffield?
AD: “I commute when I can,
but I’ve also got a place in the
city for me to stay in a few nights
a week. Caolan Lavery is a mate
of mine and I’m still sharing
with him now, just like we did
when he was here and I was
at Barnsley when we shared
a house together. He recently
signed for Scunthorpe so it suits
us both and it is a friendship that
goes back quite a while. I’ve
known Caolan for a long time,
he has played for Wednesday,
United, Chesterfield and
Rotherham in the area. When
I was looking for something
having resigned in the summer,
he was a free agent but has
since moved to Scunthorpe, so it
is a perfect fit for us both.”
UTB: Let’s switch focuses from
club to country. How much are
you looking forward to the World
Cup in Qatar this winter?
AD: “It is something I’m really
excited about, and it will take
priority once we get the next
three games out of the way. It is
being talked about in the media
already and it will obviously be
a massive occasion for Welsh
football because it has been
such a long time (1958) since we
last reached the finals. It will be
such a memorable experience
to hopefully be part of the squad
and the opportunity of some
games that I’ve had recently
came at a really good time. We
have some good goalkeepers,
Wardy (Danny Ward) is playing at
Leicester and Wayne (Hennessy)
has won over 100 caps, so
the more of us that have been
playing the better it is for Rob
Page when it comes to having
options at the tournament and
we’ll all be ready. We’ll go there
full of confidence and belief
of progressing from the group
stages, we’ve got two massive
games against the USA and Iran,
before we face England.”
UTB: Finally, whilst on the
subject of the World Cup and
your likely inclusion in the Wales
squad, it would be remiss not to
mention the unfortunate injury
picked up by Rhys Norrington-
Davies that has robbed him of
the chance to be involved. Have
you spoken to him recently?
AD: “When Rhys went down
like he did I feared the worst
for him because he isn’t one
who stays down for nothing and
when he couldn’t get back to
his feet you knew it was very
serious and it's awful to see.
I felt for him at the time because
he’ll have known as he left
the field on a stretcher that his
World Cup dream was over.
I’ve spoken to him since and
I’m honestly devastated for him
personally because he has been
so good this season, one of the
most consistent performers and
that won’t have gone unnoticed
by Pagey. He’ll come back
stronger, and a better person
and I really hope for him that
the next opportunity is only four
years away.”
SHEFFIELD UNITED vs BURNLEY