Drogs’ unbeaten run no surprise to goal hero Wixted

ADAM Wixted’s return to form could hardly have been more timely as Drogheda prepare for the extended absence through suspension of on-loan Shamrock Rovers midfielder Gareth McCaffrey.

With McCaffrey serving an automatic one-match ban on Friday and further punishment due to be meted out later this week following his red card against Athlone, 21-year-old Wixted took up the right-sided midfield berth on Friday last and helped himself to both goals in the victory over Shelbourne.

And after a couple of serious injuries this season, it’s no wonder that the former Derby County underage player was wearing the biggest grin in United Park come the final whistle.

‘It was a great feeling and I’m happy with my two goals, but the team defensively were excellent and I’m happier because we got the win and the three points,’ he began.

‘We’ve almost secured the play-off spot now, but we’re not going to sit back and say we have the job done. We want to finish on as many points as possible. We want to go into the play-offs on a high - we don’t want to sit back and lose that consistency.

‘We’ll push on and I think we’ll keep getting better and better and we’re growing in confidence as a team.’

Wixted had a short spell with the Drogs in 2014 under caretaker boss Darius Kierans and then Damien Richardson, before representing Bohemians and Bray Wanderers during another difficult season last year, and the current campaign hasn’t gone too smoothly either.

‘I was a bit unfortunate in the first pre-season game to dislocate my shoulder, so that set me back a couple of months and then I felt I was playing a bit of catch-up with the rest of the guys,’ he explained.

‘I got back into the team and played nine or 10 games and then I had lower back problems. My lower back muscles kept going into spasm every time I trained and I was in agony for weeks.

‘It was hard to shake off, but I finally got there and I’m feeling great at the moment and just getting fitness and getting minutes under my belt.’

Wixted was surprised to be told that Friday’s victory increased Drogheda’s advantage over Shelbourne in the table to a massive 20 points.

‘It’s brilliant, I have to say. I thought Shels would be up there as well in a play-off spot and I think everybody else thought that as well.

‘It’s really good from our point of view, but we had a goal from the start of the season. We knew Limerick are a great side, but we wanted to secure second place - we didn’t want to finish third.

‘Our results were up and down a little bit, but we had a new team - a mixture of mostly younger players and then a few experienced lads.

‘I think we gelled together pretty quickly after the first couple of games, though, and now we’re finally getting there and we’re very consistent at the moment and at the right time of the season, going into the play-offs.’

Not that Wixted predicted anything different after checking out the club’s facilities before the start of the season.

‘They’ve been brilliant from the start - Mark [Kinsella], John [Gill] and Pete [Mahon] - and I’ve said it from day one. I remember coming up in pre-season and I knew from the other clubs that I’ve been at, that we were doing things right.

‘Everything is spot-on - the training, the nutrition, re-hab and for me the physios have been excellent and they got me back onto the pitch.’

Wixted fully expects Drogheda to make absolutely certain of their play-off place when they face Cabinteely this Friday, and thereafter the Boynesiders will begin to think about their opponents - whoever they may be.

‘I think UCD will make it in the end,’ he predicted, despite Cobh defeating them on Friday night.

‘They are a stronger side from my point of view. It’s a tough place to go and play in Belfield, but we have more than enough strength in the squad to go and beat them over two legs.’