Winchester repeat performance

Date published: 15 August 2014


CARL Winchester appears a certainty to step straight back into the starting XI against Leyton Orient tomorrow.

And that is not a sentence that could have been written on many occasions during the former Linfield youngster’s three years as a professional at SportsDirect.com Park.

There has never been a question over the natural talent of Winchester.

But his toughness has been under the spotlight and his manager Lee Johnson revealed he came close to joining twin brother Jude, formerly of Kilmarnock and now of Cliftonville, in heading back to his Northern Ireland roots in the summer.

After a pep talk and as one of the stand-out performers in pre-season, though, Winchester (21) was handed the chance to show his worth at Colchester on the opening day of the season.

He didn’t disappoint, either, and a bright effort as a second-half substitute in the Middlesbrough loss suggests strongly that the midfielder will play a big part as Athletic attempt to see off Leyton Orient.

“Last year, Carl was mentally not in a great place,” Johnson said.

“He had been at the club a long time and I think he felt his football career was probably coming to an end.

“We had a good chat with him at the end of the season and told him to go home, take stock and work out what he wanted from life.

“Did he want to go home and play in Ireland so he could live with his mum and dad? Or did he really want to make a go of it?

“We said that if he did want to make a go of it then he had to come back and man-up, basically.

“This is not a charity. We pick the best players who are in form and you have to consistently be the best you can be not just in games but in training every day.

“It is hard — it’s a dogfight to be a professional footballer.

“There are only two players, Jonathan Grounds and Korey Smith, who last year started over 40 league games.

“You have to be strong mentally to realise that this is football, this is life. This year, he has done that.

“And I have proved in my time here that I don’t care of you are the top signing on the highest wage or have come through the youth. If you are in form then you will play.

“He has been excellent, all through the pre-season, and in the first game.”