Alan McCormack believes there couldn't be a better game for himself or for the team at the moment than Saturday’s West London derby against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. Alan has been absent from The Bees line-up since Boxing Day due to a persistent calf injury but made his long-awaited return on Monday in a 3-0 defeat to Millwall in the Under-21s. In his absence The Bees have won only twice in 2016 and are currently on a three match losing run but Alan sees Saturday’s derby as the perfect match to put all that right.
Speaking to Bees Player after Monday’s Under-21s defeat Alan said: “It is a tough time for the club at the moment and a tough time for the players in the dressing room but we are very much sticking together and we are going to sort ourselves out. I don’t think there is any better game that you can ask for than Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. If any player doesn’t understand the importance of this Saturday then I don’t think they should be at this club to be honest or maybe involved in football.
“This Saturday is not going to be like any other game and the first game proved that. It was hostile and even though we were at home you could still sense the away fans there. It will be even tougher going to their place now. It is going to set off at 100 miles per hour and tackles are going to be flying in. We have to stand up, roll our sleeves up, take our tackles, give out tackles and try and play our football.
“Three thousand fans going away from home on a Saturday is tremendous, no matter what. Our away fans since I have been here have been tremendous. I still can’t believe some of the fans we take long distances away. The home fans always come in their droves and we want to give them something back. Everything that has gone on over the last few weeks will be forgotten if we can take three points on Saturday.”
Alan first picked up his calf injury on Boxing Day but then suffered a re-occurrence ahead of the Emirates FA Cup tie with Walsall in early January. Since then Alan admitted it has been really tough as return dates have been delayed due to further setbacks but he is confident the extra work he has been doing with the fitness staff will finally put the injury behind him.
“I have been feeling really good for the last couple of weeks,” said Alan. “I have been doing a lot of hard work on the training ground with James Purdue and in the gym working on strength in the calf area so hopefully I don’t get a re-occurrence of the injury. I have got through the first step of getting 60 minutes under my belt so I am pleased. It has been frustrating. Boxing Day was when I first did the calf and I came back and did it again and then went back out running and it happened again. There have been a few breakdowns so it has been tough dealing with that especially as they team hasn’t been doing too well.”
As one of the leaders in the dressing room Alan revealed it has been tough to not contribute fully in matches or in the dressing room over the past few months especially given the tough times that the team have been going through.
“The hardest part is that you can do anything to help, you just have to sit and feel helpless,” said Alan. “In team meetings there are only so many things that you can say or do when you aren’t playing. It is hard to voice your opinion because the lads are grafting every minute of the game to try and get a result. When it is not happening the last thing they need is somebody who is not involved sticking their nose in. That has been hard because I like to be opinionated and I like to give my views on things to help everybody out.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Alan below