Ricky Barby On His 50 Matches For The Club

WORDS // RHIAN TILLEY

Last Saturday’s fixture away to Marston Saints marked Ricky Barby’s 50th match for the club. Not only was he given the captain’s armband to honour the special occasion, but the prolific forward also managed to score on his 50th appearance in the yellow and blue.

It was your 50th match for the club last weekend and you were given the armband. How did it feel knowing you’re the first player to reach that milestone for Southam from the re-launch of the club?

To be honest I didn’t realise I was the first player to reach 50 games. I thought I would be up there with some other lads but it is a great feeling to reach such a milestone and even better to be given the armband.

A lot of things about the club must be different on your 50th appearance from your 1st.

A lot of things have changed since the 1st game I played including leagues, our achievements and targets, and even most of players at the club.

Rich had high praise for you as a player and considers you a top club man. How important has his support been to your consistency and long run of matches being in the team? I have played under Rich for a long time now, and with a few different teams, and his reassurance and confidence in me helps me to perform as best I can every game.

Not only did you get a goal but the team also got the win. Besides being a big day for you personally it was an important win that

brought the team up into 3rd place in the table.

It’s always nice to score and especially if you win the game but most importantly it has got us into good form coming up to the last few games of the season.

Rich has said the match on Saturday was by far the best football he’s seen the team play this season. What has clicked in the team the last few matches to grind out the necessary wins to keep us moving up the league table?

I think we have gone back to basics and also started to enjoy our football more which helps the lads to relax and takes pressure off of us so we can play good football.

Another important match this Saturday against Charlton United at BHP. What can the supporters expect from the team this weekend and for the rest of the season now?

It will be another tough game, but they can expect a lot of positive attacking football with hopefully a few goals. For the rest of the season we would like to finish as high as possible in the league.

Because of Covid breaking up the past few seasons it has probably felt like it took a while to get to your first 50 matches, but hopefully the next 50 will come much quicker. Where do you expect this club to be by that point?

Yeah, I’m sure the next 50 games will come quicker than the last and as for expectation we hope we can move up the leagues and finish as high as possible with hopefully a few good cup runs as well.