IRON HANDED ME ARTHUR CHANCE!
TEENAGE midfielder Arthur Iontton was left frustrated when his Braintree Town loan was scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic, but insists it was still a ‘great experience’.
The 19-year-old arrived on loan at the National League South strugglers from Stevenage towards the end of February and notched up four appearances before play came to a grinding halt all over the country.
“The loan helped me massively,” said Enfield-born Iontton. “It’s been difficult getting in the team at Stevenage, they have a lot of experienced boys there.
“As a young player, you need to get game time and Braintree were willing to give me that. It’s the only way to learn and improve.
Frustrating
“They had a couple of boys from Stevenage which helped me to settle in. The football is a little bit different – it’s more physical. It was a bit hard to get used to it at first, but after a few games I felt at home.”
The Tottenham fan also enjoyed working under legendary Non-League boss George Borg at Cressing Road.
“He’s got great experience and has worked with players who have played in the League,” he said. “He’s helped me a lot.
“When I first met him he said he wouldn’t mess around. He gets straight to the point and will say it to your face. He will tell you if you’re having a good game or not, and that suits me. It’s good to know what you need to do to help the team out.”
It was perhaps typical of Iontton’s fortunes this term that the Covid-19 crisis came just as he was getting into his stride with the Iron.
“It was extremely frustrating,” he said. “Having not played many games this season, I’d played four for Braintree and was hoping to finish with ten or 15 games. It would have put me in good stead for next season.
“It’s frustrating for everyone in the country – there’s not much we can do about it.”
While Braintree have found life tough in NonLeague’s second tier this term, Stevenage have struggled in League Two.
The Hertfordshire club were rock-bottom of the EFL, ten points from safety with ten games left, when play came to a halt.
It remains to be seen if and when the remaining Football League matches will be played and how promotion and relegation issues will ultimately be decided, but there is a possibility Boro could be lining up in the National League next season.
Iontton said: “If we play the ten games, I believe we have still got a really good chance of staying up. Either way, I want to get game time on a personal level. My sole focus is on Stevenage. I’ve had chats with the manager (Alex Revell) and the club and I’m happy to stay at Stevenage and see what happens next season.”
Physical
If Stevenage do drop into Non-League, then Iontton’s temporary spell at the Iron won’t have done him any harm.
“Braintree isn’t so far away from the Football League,” he said. “There’s not much difference between the leagues. It gets a bit more physical when you go lower.
“I just want to play at the highest level I can.”
While he waits for the lockdown to end, he is doing his best to keep in shape.
“I’m trying to stay in a routine so when I go back, it’s pretty similar,” said Iontton, who admitted he was ‘very proud’ to have been named the League Two Apprentice of the Year last season.
“I’m trying to stay fit by doing running, sprints and ball work where I can, bearing in mind we are only allowed out once a day.”