Football Pre-season’s going to be tough, Simpson warns the Robins
“TOUGH” was the simple adjective Danny Simpson applied to the prospect of a Nigel Pearson-led pre-season with the experienced right-back now firmly part of the Bristol City squad for 2021/22.
Simpson has agreed a one-year contract in BS3 after arriving at the club on a short-term deal in March as Pearson’s first signing since taking charge of the Robins.
It was, and is, a symbolic move because Simpson is a player well known to Pearson, having worked together across the 2014/15 season at Leicester City, but also reveals the type of characters and levels of professionalism the manager demands at Ashton Gate.
Fitness was a fundamental issue for City last season with a litany of injury issues which denied the team any consistency and wholesale changes of the physio department have taken place since the end of last season with Dave Rennie joining.
Pearson’s pre-season will also seek to address that issue with his expectation for his team to be one of, if not the, fittest in the division and Simpson is well-placed to warn his teammates as to what’s in store when the player reconvene at the Robins High Performance Centre on Monday.
“Hard work, it’ll be tough,” Simpson said. “Which I’ve told them already but you have to work hard and if you want to achieve something good and be successful, you have got to work really hard and that’s exactly what’s going to be happening from day one.
“I’ve told the lads what to expect and it’s probably good for me because I know what’s coming but come the end of pre-season the lads will be fit and will feel a lot better in training and games than maybe last season.”
Simpson has also indicated that his role at the club won’t be strictly limited to in a first-team playing capacity. He is the only specialist right-back in the squad, with Zak Vyner also capable of playing in the position, but the veteran has also stated he can be an off-the-field mentor.
Pearson has a clutch of academy talent coming through in BS3 across all areas of the field, including defender Ryley Towler, and Simpson said last season that providing knowledge and sharing experiences with young players is something he relishes.
“It’s up to me now, to work as hard as I can in pre-season, to get as fit as I can. I know what I can do with a pre-season under my belt. I know what I can do for the team, manager and the fans,” Simpson said.
“My aim to be as fit as I can and play as many games as I can for the team and help them achieve something. But if it’s not that, there are times when the squad is going to get changed, but I’m here to help players and the young lads in the dressing room.”
Simpson made four appearances for City in the right-back berth towards the end of 2020/21, and very much liked what he saw from the club and within Bristol, with the 34-year-old living in the same apartment block as Pearson.
However, he admits that once the season kicks off in August, hopefully with the return of fans, it gives him the opportunity to make what he feels will be his proper debut for the club.
“I could see in those two months what the future could be for Bristol City. I’m pleased that I can be a part of it from the start of pre-season and not towards the end of a season,” he added.
“I’m very pleased. I came in at the end of last season for the last couple of months and I enjoyed every minute of it - I got some games, got to know everybody, the area, players, and staff. We’ve all missed the fans. Every single player and everyone involved in football is delighted that fans are back - for me it will feel like my debut again even though I have played four games. I can’t wait.”