Tuesday 23 September 2014 15:35, UK
Sky Sports caught up with MK Dons duo Lee Hodson and Samir Carruthers to talk about ambitions for the season, manager Karl Robinson, hot prospect Dele Alli, beating Manchester United and who would win in a FIFA duel.
Speaking ahead of the launch of FIFA 15, the pair admitted to being hopeful of achieving promotion from League One this season after choosing to drop down the divisions and join the high-flying Dons from Watford and Aston Villa respectively over the last two summers.
What is the target for this season then at MK Dons?
Lee Hodson: I just think our target is to go out there every game and give it everything we’ve got and see where we can end up. It would be nice for us to be getting promoted this season - our target is to go out there and give it a right go this season. Everyone in the squad wants to get promoted.
Samir Carruthers: I think everybody’s target would be to win the league and get promoted, but we’ve just got to stick with it and get good results week in week out. The main aim is to get promoted this season and we’re going to go for it.
With a young manger and a fairly young set of players, do you feel the club is on track to progress up the divisions?
LH: We’ve got a good young squad, we’ve got a mixture between experienced players and young players who are hungry to perform. We’ve got depth in the squad now to put players in and it doesn’t matter who comes in, we’ve got people who are good enough to come off the bench and perform week in week out.
SC: They all just want to do well for the club. Every single player in the club wants to be playing at a higher level and when you have players like that who want to achieve more and more, then you are going to get better results. It’s inevitable that the club will one day go up.
Was Karl Robinson a big influence in you both making your loan moves to the club permanent?
LH: Yeah. He was telling me about the club, the way he plays and his ambitions for the club. Straight away, that was where I wanted to be playing my football. The way he put it across to me made me want to sign straight away.
SC: I’d worked with him last season and I knew how he coached us and the style of football he wants us to play – it suits me down to a tee. I just thought it would be perfect. It’s perfect for me and where I want to be and my career. I want to hopefully one day get back to playing in the Premier League or the Championship so knowing how Karl coaches and plays, it’s so suitable for me.
Young midfielder Dele Alli, 18, is said to have attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in world football, just how good is he and how far can he go?
LH: He’s got the potential to play at the top, play in the Premier League and hopefully one day play for England. He’s the sort of lad that will keep working hard. He won’t stop. I think he’ll be a big young talent coming through English football and hopefully in the next couple of years a lot of people will see that when he’s playing in the Premier League and playing for England one day.
SC: I think he’s one of the best in the country that I’ve seen. His head is so mature for his age. In training, you would never expect someone of his age to be doing the stuff he does. I can only say good things about Dele. He’s a good kid as well.
The 4-0 Capital One Cup win over Manchester United certainly turned a few heads, were you a little bit surprised it was so comprehensive in both scoreline and performance?
LH: I had a feeling before the game when I was watching at home (due to injury). The lads were full of confidence after the last couple of games we’d played. We were going out there with no pressure – all the pressure was on Man United. I think that showed throughout the performance and the lads enjoyed the game. It really showed everyone what MK Dons is all about.
SC: I knew against higher opponents, and teams in the Premier League, we always do well because they try to play and we try to play. Sometimes we struggle against teams who don’t try to play because they get in our faces. We knew Man United would give us respect and time on the ball so I knew we’d do well. We played well against Sunderland last season as well. I knew deep down we’d have a good chance against them. I’ve never seen the stadium like that before, it was amazing
You’re both promoting the release of FIFA 15, is it a popular game in the dressing room at MK Dons?
LH: All the lads play it. We sometimes take it away with us on away trips. On the evenings we’ll have a few FIFA tournaments or on the way up there we’ll have a few games on the bus. It’s a good laugh.
SC: We used to have a lot of competition on the back of the bus on the way to away games, I used to win a few of my share and lose a few of my share but 9 times out of 10, I know I’d be in the final.
If you were to play each other on FIFA, how would that end?
LH: If it was me and Samir on FIFA, I think I’d beat him. I tend to go for the European teams, teams in the Premier League, I look at who my opponent is and choose to a team to pick them off.
SC: People like to talk about it but when it comes down to the business, I know I’m there. When we first get the new game, I think everybody goes straight to see what ratings they are, what they look like, how they are on the pitch and what they move like. But after that you think ‘Okay, maybe I’m useless on this game!’ and go play with the better teams.
Play as Samir Carruthers and Lee Hodson in EA SPORTS FIFA 15, out Friday 26th September on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and all other formats. Pre order NOW to get your copy on #FIFA15Friday from easports.com/uk/fifa/buy
