Ben Richards-Everton reflects on a debut to remember

Ben Richards-Everton reflected on his impressive debut which saw the Iron gain three important points in the Vanarama National League.

The defender spoke to Iron Player following the teams 3-2 win over Dagenham and Redbridge at Glanford Park. The new signing scored on his debut and was also named as the sponsors player of the match. 

He began by reflecting on his first taste of victory in claret in blue: "We made hard work of it, especially with them scoring late on. At this stage it’s the three points that matter and to a man I thought we battled, we played well in spells, and we got the win and that’s the most important thing."

Ben then went on to speak about his own performance: "Thanks to the fans for welcoming me. Hopefully, there’s more of them to come and I can continue to help the team as much as I can because that’s what I’ve been brought in for.

"The manager has brought me in and he’s got the trust in me and he wants me to help the lads with my experience. I know a couple of the lads already, but even after today and from what I’ve seen in training, we’re more than capable of getting out this situation.

"The fans were brilliant with us, they didn’t stop cheering, and they helped us out massively. It’s a good atmosphere, a good club, and long may that continue."

The defender hadn’t played for two weeks but relished the opportunity to be back on the pitch: "I played my last game on February 4th, so I got a bit leggy towards the end and felt a bit of cramp, but I can only get better. We’ve got another tough game on Tuesday, so the games are coming thick and fast we have to be ready.

"I’ve got a lot more to give once my legs are a bit fresher and that’ll come with more training sessions and games under my belt. Hopefully, I’ll get a lot better and thanks again to all the fans who got behind us because it really helped."

The team fell behind but managed to turn it round before half time, and Ben was sure to praise this mentality: "The gaffer has brought a few experienced heads in. There will be games where we concede and go one or two nil down, but we have to show character, belief, and we have to fight for the shirt.

"We showed that today and if we’d have got a third before half time I think it could have been a different scoreline. The main thing today was getting the win and hopefully that kicks us on now."

Next up for the Iron is Wrexham on Tuesday night, and Ben looked ahead to that challenge: "There are no easy games in this league. Every team poses different threats, but every team has weaknesses as well so I’m sure we will go through that and do the analysis. We’ve got to be ready and we have to dust ourselves down.

"It was a great win and we enjoyed it, but we’ve got a big game on Tuesday with Wrexham who are doing really well this season. They’re the games you want to play, in front of big crowds against teams at the top of the league. Let’s go toe to toe with them, why not?” 

The new arrival finished by talking about playing in front of the Iron supporters:
"I’ve played here a few times, especially when I was in League Two with Bradford and Accrington.

"I know about the club - the fans are great, good facilities, and a good club. The new owners, the management team, and everyone else can hopefully change the direction of where we’re going and we can start looking up rather than down."