After an impressive start to the season, Wycombe have slipped to 12th in the table, following last Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Mansfield. Despite their recent dip in form, Tony Adams' side remain just two pints outside the play-off places and there is every reason to believe that the former Arsenal legend can still mastermind a promotion bid for the club this season. Midfielder Joe Burnell, who has just recovered from a bout of glandular fever, remains confident that Wanderers are still worthy contenders for a top three finish and the former Bristol City player revealed to GMF just how much he is enjoying working with the former England international. Mark Shail is the man with the questions.
Q:ARE YOU NOW FULLY REOVERED FROM YOUR RECENT ILLNESS?
A:Hopefully, yes. I started the season playing quite well, but then my glands started to come up and I began to start feeling unusually tired during games. By then I knew something wasn't quite right. After some tests I found out I had glandular fever and I was told to rest for six weeks.
Q:THAT MUST HAVE BEEN VERY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE THE CLUB STARTED THE SEASON SO WELL?
A:It was very frustrating, but it's just one of those things. I've never been very good at watching games, but it was even more annoying being on the sidelines when we started to hit a bit of a sticky patch.
Q:YOU LEFT YOUR HOMETOWN CLUB BRISTOL CITY TO JOIN WYCOMBE IN THE SUMMER, WAS THAT A DIFFICULT DECISION?
A:It was a tough call, but I wasn't playing as much first team football as I would have liked towards the end of last season. I spoke to City boss Brian Tinnion in the summer and he indicated to me that I wouldn't necessarily be in his first choice eleven, so when Wycombe made me an offer I thought it was in my best interests to move on.
Q:WHILST AT BRISTOL CITY YOU PLAYED AT FULL BACK AND IN MIDFIELD. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURED POSITION?
A:I prefer playing in the middle of midfield and I think Tony Adams brought me here primarily as a midfield player, which suits me. At Bristol City I was considered a versatile player, but that sometimes that works against you because it's difficult to command the same position week in week out.
Q:HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING WORKING WITH TONY ADAMS?
A:He has been brilliant, a 100 per cent professional. I thought I was leaving Bristol City to join a smaller club, but in many ways his methods are much more advanced than anything I had previously experienced.
Q:GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES?
A:He is very focused on our diet, especially before games. For example, on match days we start off by having raw vegetables, followed by a mixture of proteins and carbohydrates. In previous seasons I have suffered from stomach cramps late in games, but that hasn't happened while I have been at Wycombe. The gaffer is also very keen on team bonding - he likes all the players to be at the training ground at least half an hour before we go out to train, in fact only last week he took us all bowling to try and help the team spirit.
Q:WHAT DO YOU THINK IS A REALISTIC TARGET FOR THE CLUB THIS SEASON?
A:So far I haven't seen a team in this division that we need to be frightened of. We've had some indifferent results of late, but we are only a young side and I'm sure, if we can learn from our mistakes, we can still be up there challenging for promotion.
