Photo Credit: A.Thompson/www.atp-photo.com
Blackpool F.C. right winger Michael D'Agostino kindly spoke with Soccer City FC prior to leaving for England to kick off preseason training with the club.
On loan for most of last season with Cheltenham Town F.C., the Canadian youth international spoke about his experience with the Robins as well as his outlook with the Seasiders for the 2008-2009 campaign.
Q. Overall, how would you assess your season on loan at Cheltenham Town FC?
I would say it was a success. Being on loan at Cheltenham helped me develop a lot and gave me a chance to really adapt to the way football is played over there. The pace of the game and high standard really helped me improve as a player both physically, technically, and mentally. It was a great experience for me to start playing first team full time professional football at a high level on a regular basis. Cheltenham was a great club to play for and i enjoyed my time there. I think that the season allowed me to get myself and my name out there and hopefully I started making a good name and good reputation for myself for the future. I think playing for Cheltenham this season definitely allowed me to show my skills and do exactly that.
Q. What was your favorite match from the season?
I would say my favourite match was my home debut against port vale. It was a great experience to make my first home start in front of the Cheltenham fans who were very good to me. We won the game 1-0 and I played a part in setting up the goal which felt very good. I earned Man of the Match and that was a great honour for me. There were a lot of games that I enjoyed, pretty much all of them to be fair, but more so everytime we would win. The team was a really tight knit bunch of guys so it was really all about the team and the collective.
Q. What was the most challenging part of the season?
I think for me personally the hardest part of the season was a point where I lost my place in the starting eleven. It took a little bit of time to get myself back in and even then it was in and out. Although when I wasn't in the team I was disappointed i still felt part of the team and knew i could still do my part as a a sub. On more of a team level I think the hardest part of the season was probably about 4 games from the end of the season where we could have secured our safety in league 1 and kept missing the opportunity and mounting pressure on ourselves. It was tough to deal with the build up of pressure but the manager was always supportive and believed in us, and eventually we got the job done and stayed up.
Q. Did you enjoy your time in the Cheltenham community with the supporters?
Very much so. The fans were always supportive of me and I was very grateful for that. They were great and I actually talk to a lot of them through the Internet and so on. Me and my mate (Craig Armstrong) actually ran a training session on a Sunday for the supporters team and we both really enjoyed it. It was a good experience and was a lot of fun. Cheltenham as a city was great as well and I enjoyed living there during my loan spell.
Q. When will you return to England to begin training with Blackpool F.C.?
I'm heading back to England on the 26th of June and preseason will be starting the 1st or 2nd of July.
Q. Are you looking forward to competing in the Coca-Cola Championship?
I'm looking forward to showing what I can do and offer to the team, although I know the gaffer has watched me play a few times already. It would be great to be able to get my chance in the Championship as early as possible next season. I think I can do well if i work hard and play my game. Now that i have played a good amount of games in the league I'm looking to do the same next year at a level one up to last season. All I can do is work as hard as I can and hopefully I get my chance, and when it comes hopefully I can take it well.
Q. What are your goals for the 2008-2009 campaign?
Personally, there is no real goal for me in terms of stats, as in goals, appearances or so on. But I'm really hoping next season I can make myself a regular in the team and keep improving myself so that one day I can get myself to the very top level in football. The Championship is a very good league and at the moment I just want to take things one step at a time and hopefully become an established player in that league.
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