Despite the speculation surrounding Danny Graham leaving Ewood Park, the striker spoke with BBC Radio Lancashire in order to put those rumours to bed, as he repeatedly stating his happiness at being part of the Blackburn Rovers set-up. Additionally, he also spoke about Rovers’ performance against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and how they should be looking to react on Saturday away at Shrewsbury Town.
“We’re still at that inconsistent position I think at the minute; we lose two, we win four, we lose the one on Saturday and we need to find a middle ground where we can turn some losses into draws and pick up some extra points, keeping that winning run alive, rather than a losing one. We go again on Saturday as we travel to Shrewsbury, it’s a big test, they’re flying in the league and hopefully we can put it right.
“League One football isn’t as easy as simply turning up and getting given the win. You’ve got to respect every team and it’s shown if people are on it more than we are, we’re going to get turned over; it’s as simple as that. We need to be ready every game. We were bitterly disappointed (on Saturday) as obviously when you win four in a row, you want to make it five, especially at home which allows you to go into the Shrewsbury game full of confidence, but it’s how we as players bounce back now and all our focus this week is on Shrewsbury so hopefully we can get the right result.
“We were angry with ourselves after losing the game on Saturday. We don’t like to lose and it was certainly a game that we felt we should be winning, no disrespect to Wimbledon, or whoever comes to Ewood, we feel that we should be picking up points and putting on performances which haven’t been the case yet at home and hopefully we can rectify that soon.”
Graham, like his manager, was full of praise for the support that the players had been receiving particularly away from home as the striker picked up on the sheer number of fans that were doing their bit in travelling to the games, both in mid-week and on the weekend.
“Credit to every single supporter, we went down last year, yet you wouldn’t think that was the case, but we had just as many away fans at Rochdale as the home fans did. We’ve had a great following, we’ve done alright on the road and hopefully we can do the same on Saturday. The supporters are going to play a massive part in helping us getting to where we want to go at the end of the season.
“I would love to be playing week in, week out but the gaffer changed it after the first two games and rightly so. I think Whitts (Peter Whittingham) and I came out of the team and the gaffer had his reasons for that, but the boys won four in a row and I’m disappointed not to be playing, but I’m delighted that the boys are picking up results and doing well. It is going to be a massive squad effort throughout the season and I stand here now itching to be playing, doing well for Blackburn Rovers and if I get the call Saturday or Tuesday then I’ll be ready and wanting to do as well as I can for the team.”
Graham was also questioned in regards to the speculation during the transfer window about him possibly departing the club for pastures new, yet the 32-year old was quick to quell any rumours about him trying to force through a move away.
“I’ve never once spoke to the gaffer about leaving. He’s never once pulled me aside and told me that he wants me to go. Leaving has never been the case; I always see my future at Blackburn Rovers. We were disappointed with the relegation last year and I wanted to put it right personally along with the other boys who came down with me. Obviously we’ve got new players in that will help us along the way but like I said, I’m ready and waiting and the only focus that me and the boys have is to make sure we get promoted.
“The team spirit is as high as it’s been since I’ve been here. I think we lost some good players and some good personalities last season but the gaffer’s replaced them with similar kind of guys and very good players. The team spirit is massive and I think it’ll be a big factor in helping us to get to where we want to go.”
