‘WE’RE STILL NOT AT OUR PEAK,’ INSISTS WOODS
IT was an encouraging sign, suggests Ryan Woods, to see Batman, Jesus and Mrs Brown among his teammates.
This year’s Stoke City Christmas party took the players to Dublin, where James Mcclean – dressed as a jockey with an interesting appendage – guided his pals around Temple Bar.
They came back to draw at Aston Villa with one of their best performances of the season, extend an unbeaten run to nine games and close the gap on the top six to five points… even if there is still frustration they are not closer to them.
There is a togetherness on and off the pitch, so noticeable by its absence last season, which is giving players belief they are ready to climb the Championship table.
“We’ve got the momentum with us,” said Woods. “We have got this unbeaten run going and we’ve scored two goals in each of the last five games. It’s just keeping them out at the other end now, especially late on in games, and I’m sure we will do that sooner rather than later.
“There’s a brilliant camaraderie between the lads, it’s a great dressing room to be in and I know it’s a hell of a lot better than last season from what I’ve heard. It’s all going in the right direction.
“We had a great weekend in Dublin. It was something we thought was very important to build relationships in the squad. I think it worked because we had a great time and you find a lot out about people.
“You spend a lot of time with people at a football club, but it’s when you spend personal time with them that you learn different things.”
Stoke are up seven places since Woods made his full debut back in September in the seventh game of the season. They’ve only lost two of the 16 matches since then, picking up 26 points.
The 25-year-old joined on loan from Brentford after the deadline for permanent transfers had passed, but the switch will be rubber stamped in the new year.
“I think it’s pretty much done,” said Woods.
“From where I stand, since I signed that first piece of paper I’ve been a Stoke City player and I’m just trying to do my best for Stoke.”
And Woods is convinced the best is yet to come from him and the side.
He said: “We’re still not quite at our peak yet, still finding our feet as a team, but we’re nine unbeaten and the performance was very pleasing at Aston Villa even if we couldn’t hold on for the three points.
“That’s our biggest problem at the moment, seeing out wins. If we had beaten Reading, Villa, QPR then we would be in the play-offs.
“We’ve got to make sure we are switched on for the last 10, 15 minutes and make sure we see those games out. It’s difficult, because you can’t put your finger on it, we’ve just got to make sure we get that last little bit right and I’m sure we will.”
Now Woods, who called in to get in the Christmas spirit with children at Hassell County Primary in Newcastle yesterday, is busy preparing to take on Millwall this weekend.
“We’re five points off the play-offs, if we can win on Saturday and close the gap to a couple it all starts to look a lot brighter,” he said.
“We’re sure we can get there and we’re just going to go about our business quietly and see what happens.
“It doesn’t get any easier in this league and I think everyone has come to terms with that now. It’s very thick and fast and no one will give you an inch. Millwall will be every bit as difficult as Aston Villa last weekend.
“We’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves. If we can get our performance right we’ll win the game.”