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Redmatchday Issue 16 | Preview

13 February 2013

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This week Rob Milsom speaks to redmatchday magazine.

“It is a massive relief that I can now just concentrate on my football because the last year, that injury was always lingering over me. I could play and I might have felt absolutely fine but then you would wake up in the morning and your knee would be full of fluid. It was a constant worry thinking, “When is it going to swell up again?” Mentally it kills you because you know it is not right and you are going to have to go and get something else done. Now I can just get on and play and it is like a weight going off your shoulders”.

I do not normally get too nervous before games but with my first match against Hibs, I had a feeling I was going to start and I woke up that Sunday morning really quite nervous. It was because I have not played for so long and everyone has doubts about you and about your fitness. I was so up for the game as I wanted to prove to people that I can still play. I have to prove myself all over again. I have to prove myself to my teammates, many of whom I have not played with before. I have to prove myself to the manager and the coaches and I have to prove to myself that I can still play at a high level.

“I have been in Aberdeen for two years now and I feel very much at home here. I think I settled in quickly when I first moved up here. The first couple of weeks were a bit funny, new surroundings, new people but after that I felt fine. Although people say Aberdeen is isolated, I can get back to London very quickly. The airport is only fifteen minutes from my flat, it is only an hour and fifteen minute flight and then Gatwick airport is only fifteen minutes from my home in London. So all in all it is no more that a three hour journey. Sometimes the boys who are going back to Glasgow are not getting home any quicker.

“The winter break was nice because I was able to go home and Fulham were good enough to let me train with them which was very important. I had only been back training for a week here and then the boys were going away for a break for seven, eight, nine days. I did not want to let my fitness drop, so luckily I am still quite close to the guys at Fulham especially Billy McKinlay. I spoke to him to ask if it was possible for me to go and train with the development squad for a week which was not a problem so I went and spent a week back in London. I trained with Jack Grimmer every day. He is doing really well. I think he got onto the bench for their FA Cup tie.

Plus all the usual features, articles and columns from all our football correspondents.

redmatchday is on sale from in and around the ground on Friday and is also available from the Pittodrie Club shop.

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