SAINTS are gearing up for a tough week on the road with two away trips in the space of four days, but for Premier League newcomer Tino Livramento, the novelty has certainly not worn off yet. Asked if he still gets excitement from travelling around the country and playing at new grounds, or if he has to block all that out and focus on the game,
Tino Livramento said: “It’s an experience. I’ve just got to soak it up and enjoy it. I knew this maybe would happen at some point in my career, but I didn’t know it would be this early. I’m just enjoying it and going to every Premier League ground has been a dream come true.”
Asked how he’d reflect on his first full season as a Premier League player and what the biggest challenge had been,
Tino Livramento said: “Definitely being able to play 90 minutes and then having to recover well and then play 90 minutes. Whether it be two days or if it comes to the next weekend game. Obviously mentally it’s been a challenge as well. I feel like for me it’s just recognising that it’s still my first season in the game and I’m just taking almost every game as an experience and just enjoying it every single time.”
Saints ended a run of six games without a win by producing a dogged display to beat Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday. And while Livramento only featured during the closing stages of that contest as a substitute, he says the win has given everybody around the club a big boost.
Tino Livramento said: “Definitely. Obviously we’d had a tough run of results and it was good to show we can be defensively sound and we took our opportunity when we got it. We’ve got two big away games (this week). We’ll feel like we can get positive results and push on towards the end of the season now.”
The challenge of visiting Burnley tomorrow night (7.45pm) is made more intriguing by the departure of Sean Dyche as boss last week, after nine-and-a-half years in charge. Caretaker boss Mike Jackson is set to take charge against Saints.Asked if he was surprised to hear the news of Dyche’s exit last week
Tino Livramento said: “Yeah. For me personally, looking at Burnley for so long and the job Sean Dyche did, which was amazing, I didn’t really expect it. But it’s football. You’ve got to be professional and you’ve got to just get on with the job you have. We’ll be prepared for whatever happens.”
