PETER PAWLETT INTERVIEW (taken from the Dundee United RedMatchday Magazine)

To play with the old footballing cliché, it’s been a third of a season of two halves so far, which might tax the mathematical abilities of some of us I admit. But as we’ve clocked up the first 13 games of this campaign, Aberdeen’s season falls very neatly into two elements, the bit where we were tearing up the division and all comers, home and away, and the last few weeks where good results have been very hard to come by.
If we in the stands think it’s all a bit odd, imagine being one of the players and trying to make sense of it. That’s the task we’ve set Peter Pawlett this afternoon…

“It has been a strange season up to now. We started so well, winning eight on the bounce and then more recently we have lost five and drawn one. When you look at the situation we are in, we are still near the top of the league although there is a feeling that we have missed an opportunity.
“But you must not lose sight of the fact that we are still in a decent enough position and have something to build on. We have another opportunity today to put some pressure on Celtic and to close the gap ahead of their game tomorrow.

“We can’t worry about what other teams are doing though. We just need to start winning again and then see where it takes us. With another international break around the corner, it is very important to get the three points this afternoon to put the poor run to bed and then we can look ahead to the winter months”.
With the Dons slipping away from the incredible standards they set in that roaring start to the season, it’s inevitable that all and sundry have been offering their opinions on what, if anything, has gone wrong with the Dons of late. Within the dressing room, they are clearly looking to remain philosophical.

“I don’t think you can put the dip in form down to anything. It is just one of those things. We were always going to have a dip at some point, but we would not have anticipated it lasting as long as it has.

“A lot is about momentum, in both directions. When you are winning, you feel that you will win again and again. When you are on a losing run, it can be difficult to get out of it.

“We maybe need a bit of luck to go our way. I am not saying the run is all down to bad luck, but things do seem to be going against us at the moment. Every little mistake is getting punished. That was not happening at the start of the season. Back then we maybe got more of the little breaks that you sometimes need to win a football match.

“Once we do get a win, and hopefully it will be this afternoon, then we will be back on track and your fortunes can change quickly.

“Over the last two and a half years since the manager has been here, everyone at the club has got used to winning. The players, the management, the staff and the fans. I think I’m right in saying we had never lost three on the bounce before this month. So it is a bit of a shock to the system and a shock to everyone, but it is part of football, part of the up and downs of being a footballer. We will come again, and I think we will be stronger for the experience.

“We know there is a lot of negativity going around at the moment, and we know that we are going to be in for criticism. That is part and parcel of being a footballer. Likewise, when we were doing well, everyone was praising us. The only thing that matters is that we know we will turn it around.

“As a footballer it is one of the first things you learn, that there are a lot of ups and downs. When you are up, you do not get carried away and you let it go. When you are down, you don’t get too down about it, although I do feel that when you do lose games, you do think about it more. When you win, it is a lot easier to move onto the next game. When you lose, it lingers in your head a bit but I think every single player is like that, no matter which club they play for and at whatever level they play at. That is just the way it is, because you want to put it right.

“Saying that, the manager is very good at keeping everyone positive. Nothing has changed. Everything is very upbeat. The manager and Tony are full of enthusiasm every day. That rubs off on the players and everyone is very positive and confident in what we are going to do here”.

For all the disappointment in the air as the Dons trooped away from Celtic Park, a healthy dose of perspective might be in order. Frustrating as that 3-1 win defeat might have been, it’s five years to the day since Aberdeen lost 9-0 at the same venue. That’s a long distance travelled by the club over that half decade.

“I remember that day”, says Peter. “I was not involved and I was injured – it’s maybe the only time I was relieved to be injured! I remember watching it on Sky Sports News and the score just kept popping up. It was horrible, I was just left sitting in my living room, thinking “What is going on here?” Thankfully since that day, we have had some good memories at that ground which have helped banish the memory of that match. I scored the winner in the Scottish Cup game against Celtic and of course, we won the League Cup against Inverness in that stadium. 

“We have definitely come a long way since that dark day in November. I think the biggest change has to be the mentality and the belief in everyone at the club. Every game we go into, we expect to win. That is the way everyone feels now. I know it has not happened this month but if you look back over the past two seasons, we have certainly won more games than we have lost. We know that one result can change everything and hopefully that result will be today”.

While the mantra at Pittodrie is always that the team comes first, as it is with every team that wants to succeed, individual performances are, of course, crucial. How does Peter look at the way he’s played thus far this season?

“When assessing my own form, I know it could be better. I have only started something like three league games and I played three games in Europe, so I have been in and out of the team this year which I accept, because I know the strength of the squad this year is very high.

“I know I am at my best when I am playing week in week out and playing for 90 minutes. I know if I was doing that, then I would be at my best because my fitness would be at its peak. Sometimes if you have not played so much, it is difficult to be 100% match fit but that is part of the game nowadays.

“You have to accept the fact you are not always going to be fully sharp but there is still a lot I can do to make sure I am as fit as I can be for when I get on the field. I can spend more time in the gym and I can play in the U20 games. Those games are important because as well as the fitness, it keeps your mind in a game situation. It gets you into the right frame of mind as you prepare yourself the same way you would for a first team game. It is important to be mentally sharp as well as physically. That is the best way of going about it. That helps me to be ready for when I am called upon.

“You are not going to be 100% every time you walk onto a football pitch especially over a long season. If you were to wait for that, you would not play many games in a season, everyone knows that. It goes for everyone who plays the game. Quite often, you have to play when you are carrying a little knock. You just have to get through it. You can still go out and perform. If you are playing week in week out, it does not matter if you have a bit of a sore knee or tight hamstring. You can get on with it because you are feeling confident”.

It’s become something of an Aberdeen tradition over the last couple of years that, as we reach November, the
Dons find their very best form. Can they do the same again this year?

“I remember from the last two seasons going on really strong runs round about this period. I always enjoy the games around Christmas and into the New Year. I have no idea why, but I always seem to play better in these games. I remember scoring a few important goals. Maybe I am looking forward to Santa coming! No, seriously, I have no idea why we have done better but it is a fact. 

“I’m not sure if it is a reason, but at this time of year, you get all the international breaks out of the way and then you get into more of a routine. You start to have a normal working week. We have had very few normal weeks so far. We came back very early and since then, each week has been quite different as we have had a lot of midweek games.

“Having the short break over the summer does not bother us as you want to play as many games as you can and you want to be as successful as you can. It is a short career so you want to play as many games as possible. But we are settling down now and that means our bodies can be better prepared. Once you get in a routine your body is able to perform a lot better.

“Once we get back to winning ways we will get that right frame of mind back in our heads. Then hopefully, we will go on another run”.