<<previous page

Matt Lawrence in the chair MATT LAWRENCE
IN THE CHAIR.
(part two)


WWISC: So why did you leave Fulham to return to Wycombe?

Matt: I left because Fulham outgrew Matt Lawrence. I didn't think that but Kevin Keegan did. Ray Wilkins and Frank Sibley quite liked me as a player and I played a lot of games for them but then Kevin took over as manager and signed a few 'right backs' but they couldn't replace me.
He eventually offered me a new three-year deal but the terms were pathetic and detrimental to me and I believed to my ability. I'd played 55 games for them the previous season and he put an offer on the table that nobody would sign. I knew that everyone else in the team was on a lot more money than me and if Fulham had offered me the same as Wycombe did then I would probably have stayed. I won 'Young Player of the Year' and was third for the player of the year title behind Paul Peschisolido and Chris Coleman so I thought I'd deserved better than that.

WWISC: You got on well with the fans there?

Matt: I got on well with the fans there and I think they liked me.

WWISC: You seem to fit in very well here, after you came back within two or three months it was as if you'd never gone.

Matt: Exactly! I'd been away for between eighteen months and two years at Fulham and I learnt a lot more there. I played with some absolutely fabulous players there.

WWISC: How do training sessions differ between Keegan and Sanchez?

Matt: Keegan was very much in the background, Frank Sibley was the main participant in training for defenders and of course as I'm a defender I did most of my work with him. I never really worked with Kevin as he spent most of his time working with the attackers. The training differs slightly, tactics were talked about more there but as I was saying we were split up into groups. Here there's more emphasis on team spirit and a togetherness. We don't have the money to spend here at Wycombe whereas at Fulham you had two million pound players in the side.

WWISC: Was there a lot of pressure at Fulham with players waiting in the wings to take your place?

Matt: Yes, and I enjoyed that and I much prefer it like that. I'm not very happy with the way I've been playing this season but there's just not that pressure. There was me and Gary Wraight at the beginning of the season but now there just myself and sometimes it's difficult to really build myself up for every game. I'm not saying that I'm not trying, and that would never be the case whereas at Fulham there were two or three right-backs pushing for your place. I don't mean any disrespect to Wycombe but Fulham is a big club. next page...
See also...
MATCH DAY ESSENTIALS previews, reports and more links >>>>
NEWS ARCHIVE All the major news stories from WW since 1997>>
Enter The Gas Room THE GAS
 ROOM
  Leave your own stories and comments via the Message Board
<<PREVIOUS
NEXT>>
Matt Lawrence is sponsored by friends of Chairboys on the Net - click here for more details
Chairboys on the Net All there is to say and know about Wycombe Wanderers on the Internet
HOME||||INDEX||||ROUGH GUIDE||||NEWS||||REPORTS||||FIXTURES&RESULTS||||INTERACT