Gary Teale has come a long way since he first began to attract notice as a youngster with Motherwell. After leaving Ayr United, he realised his ambition of playing for Wigan in the Premiership before Billy Davies' persuasive skills managed to lure him to promotion-chasing Derby County. Givemefootball's Ian Clarkson caught up with Teale as the race for promotion to the Premiership hots up.
Q:GARY, YOU'VE BEEN AT DERBY FOR FOUR MONTHS NOW, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TIME SO FAR?
A:There is a strong focus, a real desire and determination to do well amongst the squad we have here and that's one of the big reasons I joined the club. I'm ambitious and I know all the other lads are too.
Q:THERE ARE QUITE A FEW SCOTTISH LADS AT PRIDE PARK NOW, WITH THE MANAGER, STEPHEN PEARSON AND YOU?
A:The mentality is nothing to do with being Scottish; it's to do with an individual's character. I want to work hard to be successful and the rest of the squad do too. With that sort of mentality we give ourselves a chance of being successful. The manager is fiercely determined and he expects the same from his players. Things have been going well for this club in recent times and long may that continue. But we know that will only happen by continuing to do things the right way, one game at a time.
Q:HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE ADAPTED FROM WIGAN?
A:I feel I'm starting to show signs of the form I'm capable of and when that happens you just want to continue in the side.
Q:AND PERHAPS SCORE A FEW GOALS ALONG THE WAY?
A:I didn't score too many goals for Wigan but I hope when people look back at my time there they will not just focus on that and will also take into account the amount of assists that I provide as a winger. I want to score more goals of course after getting my first, I hope there's plenty more to come!
Q:HOW DO YOU TRY AND ESCAPE OF THE PRESSURE OF GOING FOR PROMOTION?
A:Away from the game I'm very happy, I've got a beautiful daughter and being a father is every bit as good as I expected it to be, if not more. It's a lovely experience and it does take you away from football sometimes. That is now a massively important part of my life - but so is my job - and my job as a footballer is to do the best for Derby County and contribute to the team effort that will hopefully see us promoted to the Premiership. I've spent most of the last few years playing at the top level and that's where I want to be again. I came to this club because I feel I can achieve it here.
Q:AND FEATURING IN AN EMERGING SCOTLAND SIDE IS ALSO HIGH ON YOUR LIST OF PRIORITIES?
A:International football is a tremendous honour and when you get a result like we did against France you realise you've been involved in a game that you will never forget. I think the whole of Scotland partied for days after that one. It's a great time now for Scottish football but you only ever play for your country if you are doing the business for your club. As I've already said, that's what I'm determined to do here and if I and all of my teammates can do as much as we can individually and as a team, then we will reap the rewards.
