“I feel like I’ve improved so much as a player since coming here…”
Fresh from entering the Cambridge United 100 club, settled Paul Digby is relishing his responsibility in the heart of the U’s determined midfield.
“I’ve felt at home from the first day here. I’ve had really good coaching and had things I’ve worked on in training and then taken it into games, I’m delighted to have that run of games. It’s down to me to keep improving and keep getting better for the team.
“Sometimes it’s good to have that versatility as you do need to play and get into the team, that helped me at the start of my career. The experience is great, but there is a time where you really need to knuckle down and master one position. Bonz has backed me, saying ‘this is where you’ll play for me,’ it’s really helped my game.”
The number four, who has captained the side impeccably for the majority of the past year, reflects on the first five games thus far and overall is satisfied with their application. In spite of that, he remains grounded and determined to kick on.
“Every game’s been a different challenge to be fair. We’ve changed our game plan going into each one, we’ve played against different styles. The great thing about League One as well is there’s really good teams – you’ve got to adapt to your game as a team with little tweaks here and there, we’ve done that really well.
“There’s a few little things we could have done better the other night, we all know that as a team, but we’ve got to learn from it and move forward.”
He wonders if the spirit and determination showed in the last trip to the Valley will put his side in good stead, considering it was arguably one of the best away performances of the season despite leaving empty-handed.
“We were fantastic at Charlton last year. We created some really good chances which, had we put them away, it’s a different game. Hopefully we can get the result because that’s what it’s all about. It’s alright saying we played well but we all know that we need to win games of football.
“It’ll be a tough game. They’ve got a good result the other night so they’ll be full of confidence, but we’re full of confidence as well – we’ve got such a good team this year, a really good squad. We’re improving all the time and just want to get stuck into the game Saturday and hopefully get a good result.
Protecting United’s back four, Paul’s been involved in his fair share of midfield conflicts. He was asked what it’s like having to adapt playing against physical counterparts in comparison to those in the division who enjoy suffocating with a plethora of passes.
“It’s a completely different threat. If they’re going long, you have to be more physical and aggressive, whereas when a team are knocking the ball around playing you have to be more sharp – it takes a different toll on the body.”
In truth, he’ll have it either way. 100 battles down, here’s to many more.