“Constant improvement” has to be the mantra for any professional footballer. It doesn’t matter who you are, you can always get better, you can always work harder – look at the work Cristiano Ronaldo still puts into his game for instance.
When you are at the other end of the age and experience scale, it’s more important still. Sam Cosgrove recognises that fact and the diligent preparation he put into getting ready for this season is beginning to bear fruit in some strong displays for the Dons thus far. But he knows full well that there is much still to do.
“I have come a long way in a short space of time. Looking back at where I’ve come from, from playing at Carlisle to a team like Aberdeen, I do look back once in a while and I’m proud of what I’ve done. But there’s still so much more to come and the hard work never stops.
“After the summer, I came back firing and I now feel that I have taken another step forward. The game time I’m getting is invaluable to me and is exactly what I’m wanting. The calibre of games I’ve been involved in will only be good for me. I’m learning every game and getting better every game. It’s just getting to that next level of goals or assists or high-quality performances and I’m personally looking forward to kicking on.
“I think that I have improved massively since I came in in January, miles better. I think everyone around the place, the manager the coaches and the players, ensure that certain standards have to be met and that drives you on. If you are constantly hitting those standards then you are becoming a better player. The quality of players I’m playing with every day in training, everyone pulls each other up. There is so much quality within the squad. We need to keep pushing each other and we will get better as a team.
“We began to show that in the games against Burnley. It was just a shame we did not make it through. Everyone knows that we did ourselves and the club proud. The quality of their centre-backs, and the quality they have all over the pitch, for us to hold our own and to take them to extra-time was an achievement in itself. “We had a chance to go through because at the end of each half we were the side that was pushing. That was very encouraging. We showed a lot against Burnley performance-wise.
“I think Scottish football does get a bad press in England but we have taken massive steps towards proving one or two people wrong. We have shown that the quality up here is high at the present moment. We proved it against one of the better teams in England”. With an intense ten months stretching out in front of us, it was important that the players took advantage of the summer break to recharge the batteries and then get prepared for the onslaught. Sam was no exception.
“I chilled out a bit during the summer. I went home to see my family, spent a few weeks with them and then got away a couple of times on holiday. I went to the Greek islands. It was a short break for me compared with what I am used to. I was speaking to all the lads and they were all going on about it being the best break they have had, I was still expecting another couple of weeks!
“There is no doubt about it, we all came back extremely fit. I was not here at the start of last season but I have seen the comparison in the data, we came back a lot fitter than we were and we will only get even fitter and even stronger as the season goes on.
“I came back for pre-season feeling confident after what happened at the tail-end of last season. There is nothing like playing games. It built my confidence after what was a quiet start for me at the club, especially in the first few months I was here.
“But I was expecting that. It was part of the reason for me joining in January, so I could find my feet, so I knew I would not be going straight into the first team and I was prepared for that. But I did not just want to sit back, I wanted to make my statement as soon as possible.
“Unfortunately, my first statement was not the best but after that, I was so willing and so keen to do well and put things right. It made me work even harder in training. I took some good steps towards doing that at the end of the last season.
“When I got my chance against Hearts at the end of last season, it was a big moment for me. I wanted to take that chance and I think I went quite a long way to doing that.
“Now it’s about building on that. Playing as a single striker, goals and assists are what you are judged against. I’m hoping the goals will come and once I get the first one, hopefully more follow. There are other parts to a forward’s game though. It is not only about the final product. There’s a lot of hard work that goes under the radar.
“My job is also to occupy defenders and be that presence up front. If we are under the cosh a bit, I need to make the ball stick or buy a foul to get us a breather. They are things I feel I can bring to the side. It is not always pretty but I recognise how important a role it is.
“Sometimes that side of the football is not always pretty, you have to do the ugly side of the game. That might be five or ten minutes to keep pressure away from us, sometimes it has to be done. Then once you have done that, you can get the ball on the ground and start playing that flair football which we have the players to do and that will happen at the right times during the season. I think there is a good balance to the side.
“I have definitely had a great reception from the fans and I am extremely grateful. It makes my life a lot easier. Thankfully the fans have been really good towards me. I think they will like me even more if I start scoring more goals!
“We are working hard at that. The understanding I have with Gary and Niall is getting better all the time. It is now about putting pressure on the final result, whether it is the pinpoint cross or the finish from me. It is trying to find that last step, which is not easy. It does take time, but the understanding is definitely getting there. We are working hard on it and working on it every day in training – feeding the wide men and getting crosses into the box for me and the breaking midfielders to attack”.
After the Europa League adventure came to a halt at Turf Moor, cup football was back on the agenda last weekend and Sam recognises how important the domestic cup competitions are going to be this season.
“There is something special about cup football. You saw how much excitement we had from the Burnley game. Today is a vital game. It is not a long campaign in the League Cup, one win and you are through to the last eight. It will make this afternoon more exciting but also more tense.
“I made my debut in the League Cup in England when I was 18 or 19 at Wigan. It was against Oldham. I was only on for five or ten minutes, but that was a good experience. I played in the League Cup last season for Carlisle early on and then we had a big game against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. We managed to take them to a replay after giving a really good account of ourselves. Being involved in the cup is a great experience and we want to stay in the mix”.
