Running games
Southwark News, Thursday April 28, 2016
www.southwarknews.co.uk/sport
Young attacker was a talented athlete but football was first EXCLUSIVE
By John Kelly
johnk@southwarknews.co.uk
AS A youngster in school, Fred Onyedinma was encouraged by his PE teacher not to dismiss other athletic pursuits in case a career in football didn’t materialise.
Onyedinma could run the 100 metres in just over eleven seconds when he was in year ten, but running past defenders was all he could think about. So he ignored his teacher’s advice. But he absorbed other lessons more readily and naturally and he is now in a position to go back to Corelli College – formerly Kidbrooke School – in Greenwich to pass on what he has learned. Onyedinma explains: “I never used to listen to my PE teacher when he used to say, ‘If you don’t go further with football you should think about taking up athletics’. I was good at the 100 metres and triple jump. But I never used to pay attention to that because I just wanted to be a footballer. “He always used to keep at it with me. He always used to tell me when I was playing for the school team that you can have all the talent but you need to listen a lot, take things on
board. That’s what separates the good players from the best players. They listen and they apply it to their game. “You always have to work hard and if you have talent then that hard work will take you far. “He comes to the games sometimes. If he wants to talk to me after a game we’ll go for a coffee and he still advises me. “Sometimes he asks me to come down to the school just to speak to the younger kids. I was in that situation where you want to be a footballer but you never know how it’s going to work out in the future. I would always try and do my best to help someone. “I enjoyed school and I think I was alright at it, but it was mostly all football for me.” After a storming start to this season when he got an assist on the opening day at Shrewsbury and then scored twice in the 3-2 defeat to Barnsley little over a week later, Onyedinma has found himself out of the first team for spells this campaign. The return from injury of Aiden O’Brien and subsequent arrivals and then successes of first Jed Wallace and then Chris Taylor meant game time was limited. But even if he wasn’t as visible in the first team as he was earlier in the season he was an important member
of Justin Skinner’s U21 side as they competed at the top end of their division. The irony of his second full campaign as a professional is that when Millwall were at their most ragged, Onyedinma was at his most exciting. As Neil Harris’ side has evolved into a tighter, more disciplined unit the more free-spirited Onyedinma has had to adapt aspects of his game and be aware of the specific individual requirements in the team collective. “It’s frustrating when you’re not in the team but you have to get your head down,” Onyedinma said. “That’s what football is about, fighting for your place. “You just learn that every season. You’re just waiting for your opportunity. If the team are winning you might be coming on to help see the game out, so it’s a different approach. If we’re winning 1-0 and I come on I’m not going to try to attack, it’s about keeping the lead. “For a young player it’s more about trying to be consistent. At the beginning of the season I was more consistent. It’s easy to say as a young player you play a game and you’re not feeling it. I think I can still improve on that. One thing is that in my position you can get tired and fatigued but it’s
about maintaining that fitness for the whole season. “It’s also not like your modern-day system in a 4-3-3 where you’re playing as an attacker. In this team you have to do both sides of the job of a midfielder.” Onyedinma was back in the starting XI for the first time in a month against Bury last weekend as Millwall moved closer to confirming a top-six finish. That was just his second start in 2016 and even though he could end up playing a significant part at the end of the season, he is always keen to shift the focus back to the collective. “I was delighted that I was back and what I try to do is always work hard to get back into the team,” Onyedinma said. “But it’s not about me. It’s all about where we are at the moment. “The manager always tells us to be positive. Obviously we want to play with freedom but he tells us to stick to the basics as well.” Those basics have taken the side far this season and they are the principles that Harris is hoping will help take Millwall back to the Championship at the first attempt. Onyedinma’s old school’s motto is, ‘Learning together, enjoying success’. It could end up being an apt description of his and Millwall’s season.
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MILLWALL 47
Fred Onyedinma has provided some thrilling moments this season
League One play-of f dates set
THE FOOTBALL League have confirmed the provisional 201516 League One play-off dates.
Millwall need just one more point from their final two fixtures to book their place for a shot at a return to the Championship via Wembley. The side that finishes third after the final round of fixtures on May 8 will play the side that finishes sixth. Fourth will play fifth. The Lions could potentially still finish in any of the five positions behind leaders Wigan with two games left. Meanwhile, Gillingham, Scunthorpe, Sheffield United, Rochdale and Port Vale all still have a chance to finish in the top six. Should Millwall lose their final two league games and other results go against them, they would miss out on the play-offs altogether, though that is an unlikely scenario. Provisional play-off dates: Match A: Leg 1: Saturday, May 14 (5.30pm) Leg 2: Thursday, May 19 (7.45pm) Match B: Leg 1: Sunday, May 15 (12.15pm) Leg 2: Friday, May 20 (7.45pm)