Josh Yorwerth chats to Alex Stedman about his new three-year contract and being a settled part of the side so far during the 2017-18 season.
Taken from Tuesday evening's programme:
Despite arguably being one of the more vocal individuals within the side out on the field, Josh Yorwerth is keen to keep his head down and continue working hard having signed a new three-year contract last week.
The Welshman put pen to paper on a new contract that sees him secure his future at the football club until at least 2020, and he insists the new deal will benefit him both on and off the pitch as he’s now settled with the Reds.
“The new contract and the security it brings to me is really nice,” he begins.
“But I’m keen to make sure that nothing really changes on my part and my game – I want to just keep working hard and producing results on the pitch.”
Indeed, when the defender made the switch on loan from Ipswich Town at the start of the 2015/16 campaign, it was against tonight’s opponents that he made his debut in his homeland in an impressive 3-0 win.
He insists that time in his career, at the age of just 19, was one which saw him find it difficult to acclimatise to his new surroundings at first – but that’s now a far cry from where he finds himself and what he feels at the current time.
“When I first joined here it was on loan, and maybe it took me a little bit of time to settle,” he admits.
“But I’m really happy here now. I think being an important part of the side really helps too, that makes you feel comfortable and can only benefit your game.
“Sometimes having an uncertain future can hang over you, and as a footballer you want to be able to primarily focus on your game – so I guess you could say that the new deal is a weight off my shoulders now.”
That longevity that the deal gives on the pitch is seemingly reflected off it too. The former Ipswich Town man revealed that himself and a defensive partner have recently moved into a house together.
“Myself and Josh (Lelan) have got ourselves a place down this way now and that’s big for both of us because we’re both happy with where we are,” he continues.
“We’ve moved in together and in recent weeks we’ve played alongside one another in defence so it’s funny how things work out.
“I’d probably say that the relationship we’ve got off the field has probably transferred onto it because I’d like to think we’ve been playing quite well together - I really am enjoying it.
A change in management during the summer signalled a clean slate for every player in the side, all eager to impress and earn themselves a place in the starting eleven. Josh admitted that life under Harry Kewell and Warren Feeney had been hard work but one which is now showing rewards.
“Since the new manager and his assistant have come in it has been very intense and we’ve made no secret of that. We’ve been training a lot and I think the penny has dropped with the boys now too and we’re understanding how the manager wants us to play.
“There’s a distinctive style that he’s trying to encourage – he does like us to play out from the back. Sometimes we can do that and on other occasions we may have to go route one.
“I understood that at the start of the season there were people ahead of me, and I knew I had to work hard to force my way into the side. We had a few injuries and then I got a chance and I’d like to think I’ve taken that.”
