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Dicker interview


skygod

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Gary Dicker enjoyed the perfect first full season at Rugby Park.

Crowned player of the year in 2016/17, and helping the team to an eighth-placed finish in the Ladbrokes Premiership, was a fine return for the Irishman.

But this campaign has been nothing short of a nightmare for Dicker so far as he has been forced to watch his teammates from the stands.

A problematic abdominal injury has led to the midfielder spending months on the mend.

As he reflected on one of the hardest starts to a season in his 13-year career, Dicker explained: “I have had worse injuries but with this one it was quite tricky.

“It was in the last game of the season it happened. I hooked the ball and felt something going.

“I was just about getting to the bottom of it and trying to work out what was making it better or worse. The club switched physios and there were crossed lines.

“It was in my stomach, lower down, between the abdomen and the groin area. It was basically like a tear I had in there and it’s so hard to treat.

 
“You look normal walking around and doing things but if I was to sprint or kick a ball, it was just severe, shooting pains.

“It’s mentally hard. You start questioning everything, wondering if there’s something wrong and people naturally question you as well.”

Dicker was outstanding last season both in midfield and at centre-back in the second half of the campaign. That just made this injury-ravaged start all the more frustrating.

He went on: “I didn’t miss a game last year and obviously how we’ve started the season, it has been difficult to watch.

“But hopefully I’ll be coming back into a winning team rather than one that is struggling.

“Last year I really enjoyed my football. We had a rocky start but after Christmas we played some good football and looked solid.

“We had a really young team as well. I was looking forward to getting back into it.

“Mentally, more than anything, when you’re not involved it’s the hardest part of the game.

“Everything builds up to a Saturday and when you’re not involved, it is difficult because you’re not in the mix.

“That’s what you’re here to do, win on a Saturday. It has been tough but hopefully the worst is behind me now.”

Killie’s season has only really got going in recent weeks after a false start where they picked up just three points from their opening eight games.

The lack of a midfield was a bugbear for many supporters early on as the team failed to gel and put results together.

It also saw fans long for the return of Dicker and the addition of much-needed steel to the centre of the park. The Irishman appreciated the sentiment from the fans and praised their support since he joined from Carlisle United in January.

Dicker even got a taste of a Super Killie Away day himself when he sat with the visiting support at Murrayfield a fortnight ago.

He said: “The fans up here have been great with me since I came here. It’s a hard situation to have been in the last few years, not having a lot to smile about.

“Last year it was a success because there were no last-minute worries or a play-off game. I was in the away end at Murrayfield with Greg Kiltie and the atmosphere was brilliant.

“With 1200 fans at an away game, that’s some going. Even in the last home game against Hibs, it was one of the best atmospheres I’ve heard in my time here. Long may that continue.

“But you have to get the results on the pitch – that helps everyone.”

Dicker is confident good times will be on the way under new manager Steve Clarke.

He has been impressed with Clarke’s training sessions and even reckons he could learn a thing or two as he looks to become a coach himself.

Dicker said: “Steve Clarke has been brilliant. He’s got that presence and you get the feeling that things are on the way up and you want to be part of that.

“The manager’s sessions are very good, in training he knows exactly what he wants.

“I think a blind man could see how hard the lads are working. When we haven’t got the ball, the shape has been good.

“It’ll probably save me doing my pro-licence being around a coach like him to be fair.

“The experiences he’s had in the game, people he has worked with as well as his playing career, if you can’t learn from him you won’t learn from anyone.”

(Record)

 

 
 
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