Feature Interviews, Features
The Midweek Interview with Lauren Phillips
Published by Gillingham Ladies Media on September 21, 2011
This week in the midweek interview we catch up with striker Lauren Phillips to look back at last weekend’s victory over her former team.
We also talk to Potter about coming back from an injury that she suffered in the first pre-season game and the need for match fitness and game time.
Speaking about the Ladies first home win of the season, Lauren said: “It’s always very important to get our first three points in the bag at home. Especially after the disappointing performance at home to Colchester two weeks ago.
“It doesn’t really bother me who it’s against as long as we get the points, but I guess it does make it a little bit sweeter that it was against my old team, as I know it was for the other girls that used to play there.
“It was very nervy, any game is when a team manages to pull a goal back, especially with the close margin that it was. To be fair to their striker it was a well finished strike which we never should of allowed to develop and we possibly could of gone further in front with VAJ just missing out on her hat trick, with her shot going narrowly wide. 
“Having said that last season we possibly would not have seen the game out and we would have dropped points. We have learnt so much last season as a group and I think the result shows we have turned a corner after a nervy start. Confidence is improving within the group and most importantly we have put together back to back results picking up points which we didn’t necessarily do last season, so a lot of positives have come out of Sundays result.”
Potter has been in the wars this season not just against Millwall on Sunday afternoon but also in pre-season but she is getting used to it now.
She added: “Yes I was in the wars just a little bit. I went down a couple of times with my ankle which I got in trouble for after the game ha ha.
“I am still finding bruises coming up everywhere but it is part of the game but also a part of my game that I need to develop, as we all do. I’d like to think it shows that I was involved and I have the bruises to prove it, but it’s what we need to do on a whole to start imposing ourselves in games a bit more.
“Being out for eight or nine weeks with the injury has been so frustrating, having to watch after training so hard is never easy.
“Going back in at the deep end against QPR probably wasn’t the best idea but I loved every minute of it. It’s not still not fully recovered, I’m still having problems with it like I did on Sunday a couple of times but I’ll always play through as it’s what I’m like. Plus having the amount of tape I have on it is like having a new bionic ankle. Hopefully it’s not going to go on for much longer fingers crossed as match fitness and sharpness is what I desperately need.”
The Ladies have been through a tough start to the season and Lauren herself is yet to score but she believes the goal is just around the corner and that the Gills have turned the corner.
She said: “It has been a tough start but we only have ourselves to blame. We have a strong squad but at the end of the day if you don’t put the performances in on the pitch then you don’t reap the rewards.
“Nobody wants to be in the position we were in last season, this is our second chance and there is no lifelines with playoffs this time and can’t afford take the risk. I do think we have now turned a corner and we can continue this run and put in a positive result this weekend in our visit to Keynsham off the back of a good win this week.
“No I haven’t scored YET. It’s always frustrating not to score and I will not be happy till I do, it’s what I’m there to do and there is always pressure to do so as its your job as a striker to score goals. Having said that I’m also there for the team to play a part in the build up to a goal as well as scoring myself. As much as I’d love to score and that I’m disappointed that I haven’t yet, it’s more important that we get the results regardless of if I do or not.”
Finally we get the thoughts of Lauren from inside the dressing room and the technology used by manager Ian Varley.
She added: “Varls efforts in the changing room before the game with the new toy to be fair was not bad. I thought he was having us on but we should know by now that he would pull it out the bag as he loves a gadget.
“The highlight was definitely when a picture of him posing miraculously came up on the screen when he was out the changing rooms. I’ll say no more but let’s just say everyone found it hilarious.”
