Interview ~ Andy Baird

Our young star striker, Andy Baird.

WWISC: Andy, you did your YTS training here at Wycombe. How did you come to join us?

Andy: I used to play with a lad whose dad used to play years ago at Loakes Park in the non-league and he still new one or two people around the place and he put my name forward. I came down for a couple of games on trial and I was asked to sign on as a YTS then.

WWISC: I believe that you had an extension to your YTS contract, why was that?

Andy: I signed the contract and only played a handful of game before I was seriously injured. I had an ankle ligament replacement operation and I was out for going on nine months. I came back from that and I think it was my second game back I had a heavy tackle on it and shattered it which took another eight months to heal and that’s when they extended my contract. I’d played perhaps a total of about fifteen reserve games.

WWISC: That’s not enough to get an accurate picture of a player. 

Andy: Under John Gregory I don’t think I even got into double figures with games played.

WWISC: Tell us about your family...

Andy: My mum and dad live just up the road from me in Banbury and my brother has just finished collage in Wycombe.

WWISC: What do they do?

Andy: My mother is a housewife and my dad runs a small business in South Shields. My brother as I said has just finished collage and is looking for work at the moment.

WWISC: Do you have a girlfriend at the moment? 

Andy: Yes! I’ve been with my girlfriend Abby for sometime now.

WWISC: Do any of them come and watch you? 

Andy: My dad tries to get down as much as possible but as he’s up in South Shields he has to travel home late on a Friday night and as he hasn’t seen mum he tends to spend the weekend with her. They came down to a handful of games last season but my girlfriend comes to quite a few games, my brother turns up now and again when he can get himself out of bed.

WWISC: Where were you born? 

Andy: I was born in East Kilbride, that’s just outside Glasgow.

WWISC: So you’re a Scot. 

Andy: Yes! Through and through I’m afraid.

WWISC: That’s not a problem, even Dave Carroll’s a Scot. 

Andy: Yes, a cockney Scot, but a Scot none the less.

WWISC: You never know, one day you might get the call from Scotland. 

Andy: That would be unbelievable, actually getting a pro contract here was unbelievable but to go on and play for my country would be phenomenal.

WWISC: Do you remember your first league goal? 

Andy: Yes I do actually, but not for the right reason. It was the one against Macclesfield, but I actually had quite a bad touch.

WWISC: Is that the one where you nearly killed the goalkeeper? 

Andy: Yes! That’s the one, but I got there before he got it in his hands anyway. It was split second timing. When I made the challenge, he didn’t have the ball. What happened after that I don’t know, but it stood anyway.

WWISC: How did it feel to actually score your first one? 

Andy: I was actually in quite a bit of pain because we collided as you’ve seen I knocked the top of my head and it was a bit bruised, so I was a bit stunned. I don’t really know how to describe it, but you have to score to know. I don’t think you can describe it.

WWISC: I remember that who’d come on as a replacement for Mark Stallard who’d been injured. 

Andy: Yes, I came on after about twelve minutes and scored with almost my first touch.

WWISC: Do you feel that your style of play had to change after Keith Scott left for Reading?

Andy: I wouldn’t say that it changed the way that we played but it did change the way that I was played. Before I used to feed off of Scottie, whatever he did I was there to pick up the bits and pieces around him. After Scottie went we actually started playing to the way that I play, giving me the ball to my feet, getting me to run at people and run behind people and the ball down the lines, things like that.

WWISC: How do you feel that your partnership with Sean going? 

Andy: It’s brilliant, he’s a great lad both on and off the pitch, he’s quite a character. When we first played down at Bristol we hadn’t even trained together. We played the last twenty minutes together at Reading but we were both feeding off Scottie then. We jelled quite well towards the end of last season. If we get the ball on the ground then get the ball to me or Sean.

WWISC: It’s got to be on the ground; in the air is no good against some of the defenders in this division. 

Andy: Well the gaffer has said he wants a big centre-forward to do certain things, but get the ball to us and we’ll have any defence in trouble all day long.

WWISC: How did it feel to score up at Manchester City? 

Andy: That was probably one of the strangest feelings I’ve ever had in football. Scoring in front of thirty thousand supporters and it was like a graveyard.

WWISC: We were making a lot of noise but they stuck us outside but the atmosphere up there was brilliant.

Andy: It looked like it and at the end of the game it was superb. Scoring in front of their supporters I wondered if I was off-side as there was no reaction.

WWISC: It looked as if there was a bit of a lucky bounce, it looked as if the ball was bouncing away from you and then spun back in front of you.

Andy: Actually it was the opposite, it was in my path but Sean had stubbed it as it came to him so it had a lot of back spin on it. As I said it was in my path but it started to go away from me so I had to go the extra yard.

WWISC: Why have you missed the pre-season games?

Andy: I got through all the running fine, but after the game at Oxford City I was feeling a little bit stiff and a little bit sore. I was rested for the Forest game. It’s just a little strain so rather then playing and making it worse it was felt that any further injury would make me having to play catch-up.

WWISC: Do you think you’ll be fit for this Saturday against Burnley? 

Andy: Jonah is trying to put me off but I think yes! I think I’ll be there about on Saturday. I defiantly think I’ll be OK! But the physio is erring on the side of caution.

WWISC: We have a good record against Burnley...

Andy: Yes! We have a great record against them; it should be a great day. They have spent a lot of money on players this summer and they have brought in about eight players. They have brought in reserve players from some of the premiership sides. They’ll be feeling confident but we’re quietly confident ourselves.

WWISC: Do you feel that there is a lot of pressure on your place now that Trigger and Jocky are getting their games together? 

Andy: I’ve never felt that my place was safe and I think that good for myself and for all the other strikers. I’d say that at the moment Sean has got a place in the starting line up. It’s all friendly rivalry because we all want to play and there’s no bitterness but we’re all striving for that first team place.

WWISC: Who would you say has influenced your career the most. 

Andy: It has to be Neil Smillie, he had me in the youth team and drafted me into the first team yes it was defiantly Neil. I think he was a little inexperienced to be first team manager but he was superb as the youth team manager and he would be an excellent first team coach.

WWISC: So how do you see this season going? 

Andy: I think we’ll shock a few teams in our division this season. So people think that it was a bit of a fluke that we got it together last season. The odds show that we’re not everyone’s favourite but everyone here is quietly confident and that is emphasized by the gaffer.

WWISC: I was reading one of the Sunday papers yesterday and one of them was saying how they thought the teams in our division would fair this season. They said that we’d shown vast improvement under Lawrie Sanchez and they expected us to be ‘steady’ and finish mid-table. 

Andy: That’s a bit more generous than some of the others are saying but I know that the gaffer is looking for a play-off place, he expects a lot from us and we’ve got to perform for him and the supporters.

Ted’s Notes
I enjoyed interviewing Andy who continued with the interview even though his lunch had been delivered and he was very hungry as he kept looking longingly at his pile of toasted sandwiches. I do believe that if he continues the way he has been going I’m sure playing for his beloved Scotland at some level is quite possible.