Simon Church was today named in the Wales squad for the European Championships in France next month. Simon spoke to RedMatchday before the end of the season and reflected on his time at Pittodrie and his hopes for the Euros.
 

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When we look back at last season, doubtless there will be a few thoughts about what might have been.

Foremost among them is just what might have happened had Adam Rooney not got injured late on in the campaign, for if he had stayed fit, just what kind of lethal partnership might he and Simon Church have formed over those games?

Church, on loan at Aberdeen from the other Dons, the MK variety, quickly found Scottish football to his liking, and six goals in 12 games is a very healthy return from his time at Pittodrie. It’s clearly been a spell that he has enjoyed.

“The move came out of nowhere. When the opportunity came up, I was aware of where Aberdeen were in the league and that they had been up challenging the past two seasons. When I heard about their interest, I could not wait to come.

“I have really enjoyed my time here. For me, on a personal level and for my career, it has been great. Coming here and playing regularly and scoring goals, it has allowed me to get back to what I love doing. It has given me a lift. I have been waiting for that over the last couple of years. I have always had the drive and knew my career would turn around but I had not been in an environment which had allowed me to do that. Coming here has definitely helped.

“Scoring goals helps. Maybe I have not done that in the last couple of years consistently. I needed to go somewhere where I could do that, so Aberdeen has been fantastic”.

Pittodrie is a long way from home for Simon, but it’s the place that has given him the chance to deliver on the promise that was identified by Reading when he was a youngster.

“I grew up in High Wycombe and moved to Reading. I then had to move out of my family home and into digs. Growing up, I was a Manchester United fan and a Wycombe Wanderers fan! They were my local team and I used to play for them from the age of eight. We used to get tickets for their matches so I used to go and watch them.

“They gave me my first chance to play the game, but at 14, I went to Reading and they are the club where I have made the biggest impact during my career. That’s the place where I learnt the most. I had a good ten years with the Royals.

“During the time I was there they produced a lot of good players who have gone on to play at a high level and many who have continued to play professionally. At my age group, there were five or six of us who came through after we had a successful FA Youth Cup side. We all played in the first team together. Jonny Hayes was a couple of years older than me, but I do remember him well! When I used to come and train with the youth team when I was a schoolboy, it was very daunting and even back then, Jonny was a big character! And he is still a character! Jonny was unfortunate not to get an opportunity at Reading.

“We saw Michael Hector come through more recently. He was coming up the ranks when I was still there and I know he came up here and did very well. After his spell at Aberdeen, he then went back down and broke into the first team and has earned himself a move to Chelsea. Coming here was a massive factor in him doing so well and kicking on.

“They have continued to produce a lot of players but they have put a lot of time and money into the Academy. There are a lot of promising players coming through at the moment. Brendan Rogers was the youth team manager when I was a schoolboy. My first proper season with Reading, he was the first team manager. He gave me the opportunity to be a professional player. He was brilliant. It just did not really work out for him at Reading, but then he went on to bigger and better things after that. I loved my time with him. The way he was every day with the players, the way he was every day on the training field, his sessions were excellent.

“When I turned professional, Reading were in the Premier League, so it was tough for me to break through at first. I was training every day with the first team and there were a lot of good strikers like Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Leroy Lita. They were all scoring goals in the Premier League so it was always going to be tough for me to break into the side or get a chance but I learned a lot from them.

“I went on a few loans to get some experience and to get some games. I had some good times and some bad times which I had to get through but it was a massive learning curve which did help me. I then got my chance at 19, 20 to play regularly for Reading.

“We got to the play-off finals in 2010/11. The Championship is the toughest league to be in. You have three games at the end of a hard season to get promoted and there is so much pressure on you. We managed to get past Cardiff in the play-off semi-finals. We drew 0-0 at home but won 3-0 in Cardiff which was a tremendous performance.

“The days leading up to the final, we were so confident and there was a massive buzz around the club because we knew if we won the game we were in the Premier League. It is such a big prize. However if you lose, it is horrible. We lost the final to Swansea. We lost a couple of early goals and that cost us and lost 4-2 in the end. We had to stand and watch Swansea celebrate on the pitch. We had boys crying and everything. It really was heart-breaking because we had such a good season but we fell short at the final hurdle.

“2011/12 was an amazing season when we got promotion. Again, we had a big squad so there was a lot of competition for places up front. But I got a chance and I scored goals, some important goals. There was a great team spirit and the whole club was a great place to be around. We believed from the start of that season that we could achieve something despite the fact we maybe did not have the best players or the fact we were not the prettiest team in the league. We just fought and ground out results and managed to win the league, which was amazing.

“I will be honest and say it was frustrating not to get a chance to play in the Premier League the following season. There were a lot of things going on behind closed doors that stopped me from playing I think. That was disappointing. Sadly I left on bad terms which was sad, because I had been with the club since I was 14.

“Still, I have a lot more good memories from my time there than bad ones. As well as getting promoted, I played in a play-off final at Wembley in front of 70,000, we had three or four FA Cup quarter-finals, so I had a lot of good times. I will always be grateful to them for giving me an opportunity in the game.

“I left Reading and a move to Charlton came about when Chris Powell signed me. He was brilliant with me and was a brilliant man as well. They are a big club and my time there started off well but then there was a change in ownership and since that point, a lot has gone wrong. I think there are a lot of things behind closed doors that have changed the interaction with the fans and the way the fans get treated. They don’t appear to be happy at the moment.

It is a shame because they are such a big club and the fans there are very passionate about their team. They want to see the club doing well and they want to be part of the club. A lot of things were happening, Chris got sacked. People were looking for answers but hearing nothing from the owners”.

A move to MK Dons followed but while Simon has been enjoying success over these last few months, his parent club have dropped out of the Championship.

“It has been tough watching from afar these last six months, seeing them getting relegated. Again, at the start of the season I was optimistic and hoping for a positive campaign. I felt it was a club on the up. After having such a good season in League one and after having scored so many goals in that league, everyone was very positive about our chances. We knew it was going to be a tough season but for whatever reason, we never got going. We probably made it tougher for ourselves.

“A lot of people also did not realise just how tough a league it was because a lot of players had not played there. It did not work out for me personally. The manager Karl Robinson likes to use a rotation system. As a striker, you are never getting a run if games and getting any consistency.

It is something which has worked for the manager in the past but did not work for me or the team this season.

“I had to be selfish at the end of the day and make the move here. I will always have a lot of respect for the MK Dons manager for allowing me the chance to come here. The Chairman Pete Winkelman was also involved and he said to me

“You have a chance of going to the Euros in the summer so you have to go and play and go and do what you need to do”. They gave me that opportunity and whilst it was sad that I could not stay and play my part, I had to be selfish.

“That is something I have learnt in my career so far. You have to be selfish as a player and it has to be about you. It is a short career. I have had a taste of being at a club in the Premier League and I want to play at the highest level. If someone or something is in my way, I need to be ruthless”.

A busy summer beckons as Simon heads to France with Wales as they take part in their first European Championship finals. When did he sense Wales might make history?

“We drew with Belgium in the early stages of qualifying and then we had a good couple of results. That is when we thought we could actually do something. Then when we beat Belgium, we thought we were on our way. But the manager would never allow us to think we had done it, so we were also going into the next game thinking we had to get a result.

“It was an amazing achievement and obviously the summer is going to be an unbelievable occasion. Everyone enjoys turning up for squads. Maybe in the past, that has not been the case with players who have slight injuries less likely to come. The group and the togetherness has been brilliant and is a massive part of being a successful team. The team spirit in the changing room, regardless of whether you were playing or not playing, was great. I don’t know how many players we have actually used, but there have been a lot of injuries and players have had to step in and they have all done a job. That has been vital. We are all together and we are all friends off the pitch as well.

“We have a few world class players in the team which also helps! Gareth Bale deserves all the plaudits he gets. He works so hard in training. He works really hard in the gym on his physique. It is incredible what he can do in a game. You can be down and out and he can produce a moment of magic that can change a game. You can’t put a price on players like that. He is also really humble.

“Gareth has been a massive factor in us reaching the finals but you look through the team, we have Ash Williams who has been the most consistent player in the Premier League for a couple of years now. He has been brilliant. Also Joe Allan, Aaron Ramsey. We also have Andy King who has just won the Premier League with Leicester. We have some top players throughout the team who have been consistent throughout the top flight of English football for a couple of years now. It is a brilliant squad to be around. Playing with players who play at the highest level only improves you as a player and drives you on.

“From a media point of view, the England game is going to be hyped up to be the biggest game. It will be the biggest game between Wales and England ever! Across the world, it will be a massive game. Hopefully it will be a game we can win! For us, we can’t get too carried away with it. The hype will be massive but we have a game before that. That is the most important game at the moment and all we are focussing on.

“We have spoken about what we can realistically achieve since we qualified. We are not going there to make up the numbers. We are going there to fight hard. We feel we can get through the group stages and do well. Everyone in the squad believes that. We have achieved a lot during the campaign and got some really important results. We got big results at hard times when we needed to. We have performed against some top teams. We have beaten Belgium and we have taken points off some top teams. That gives us confidence. We are a confident team. That comes from the manager as well. He makes us believe we can achieve anything.

“The manager has not said anything about who is going. Everyone is going to be sweating until the squad is announced. It is one of those things though, you can’t really do a lot about it apart from keeping doing well. There is no point in worrying about it until the announcement is made. Hopefully I have done enough to be there.

My main aim is to get in the squad but I also want to play a part by getting on the pitch and helping the team. Hopefully I have done enough to do that”. And beyond the summer? What does the future hold for Simon Church?

“I have obviously enjoyed my time here but I still have a year on my contract at MK Dons so I am not sure what will happen. I have not spoken to them yet. We’ll have to wait and see”.

RedTV | Watch the interview with Simon in full | please click here
 

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Another former Don was also named in the Wales squad heading to France- goalkeeper Danny Ward.

Congratulations to Danny & Simon and good luck in France!