Imminent Improvement!

By: Richard Lord
Date: 06/08/2002

AFTER three weeks of uncertainty, Grimsby striker Phil Jevons has been taken off the transfer list and now promises that the fans will see an improvement in his game from the Jevons they saw last season.

Speaking to the Evening Telegraph, the 23-year old striker revealed his desire to do well in the up and coming campaign starting at Norwich on Saturday. "Last season when I was in the team I was playing well and scoring goals," said Jevons.

"But when the form dipped and I got the injury, that was when I felt the pressure. You ask any footballer and they'll tell you they'd rather be in the starting 11, no matter what.

"I spoke to Paul Wilkinson last year and he said that your first season is always hard but that you come back stronger and you're more equipped to deal with situations. That's what I'm aiming to do.

"I'm delighted to be off the list. As soon as I found out Everton had agreed to spread the payments out and give the club a little cash boost I thought it might trigger off coming off the list.

"It's been weird for me only being a young lad and I've never experienced anything like this before. Like the manager said to me, I've just got to forget about it and get on with playing. But it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be."

"Going to Sweden on tour helped because it meant I was just able to forget about it."

And Jevons believes that the money given to Groves to strengthen the team has had an effect on team morale. "There has been a lot of good news and a lot of positives from last week and maybe that's taken a weight off the lads' minds," continued Jevons.

"Against Hull it seemed like some of our minds were elsewhere. Now that these things have happened, the squad is getting bigger, and hopefully we can take out the positives from Stockport into the Norwich game on Saturday.

"Norwich will be a tough game. They did well last year and were in the promotion spots. I don't what will happen teamwise. With Stockport being the last friendly I would think the team that started that would be the one for Norwich.

"If that's the case I've got to respect the manager's decision. If I'm not in the starting 11 it's up to me to force my way in."

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