Smart Alex’s Midas touch

Alex Cisak: ready to work hard

NEW ATHLETIC goalkeeper Alex Cisak knows better than most what it takes to haul an ailing team up by its bootstraps.

Last season, the Polish-Australian stopper made only his fourth league appearance for Accrington Stanley in February, with the club in danger of being dragged into an npower League Two relegation battle.

Perhaps it was down purely to good management on behalf of John Coleman, or maybe some of that noted Antipodean bloody-mindedness rubbed off on the rest of the side.

But after Kraków-born Cisak (22) had played his part in a 2-1 victory at Wycombe, he kept his place for a magnificent, out-of-the-blue run of 11 wins in 18 which lifted Stanley into fifth spot and gave the minnows a shot at the play-offs.

"I had a groin injury before the start of the season so wasn't in the side straight away," explained Cisak, who is in line to make his Athletic debut between the posts for the visit of Sheffield United on Saturday.

"I then got in and we just rose up the ladder — I think we were in 19th place at the start of the run and ended up finishing fifth and getting a place in the play-offs.

"We were favourites to go down at the start of the season on the small budget we had.

"The players did amazingly well, especially when we weren't getting paid on time.

"It is hats off to the boys there and the manager has improved the league position every year he has been there so he has done very well, too."

Accrington missed out on an Old Trafford play-off final, losing over two legs to Stevenage.

It was still quite an achievement, though, and one Athletic manager Paul Dickov is aiming to emulate this term.

For his part Cisak, whose quest to join Athletic was protracted as transfer negotiations between the clubs twisted and turned, is pleased to be finally settled in at a club he has been impressed by.

"I have really enjoyed it here," added the ex-Leicester trainee, who knew Dickov from when he was a player at the Walkers Stadium, at the same time as assistant manager Gerry Taggart was working with the club's reserves squad.

"I get on great with the staff and the lads and I love how professional things are. I can't wait for the first game now.

"The transfer dragged on for quite a long time and I am just happy it all got sorted out.

"Now I can concentrate on the football, rather than worrying about whether I am coming here or not.

"I have a lot of things I can improve on and I just have to work hard on my game every day.

"I want to gain confidence and get better all the time. There is such a big difference between my level and ’keepers in the Premier League, so I want to keep working at it.

"Paul Gerrard is a great goalkeeping coach and I have enjoyed training with him. He has improved me already.

"So I am looking forward to working through the whole season with him."