Ryan Frederick West Ham
Ryan Fredericks shared Cherries are “looking to get to 40 points as quickly as possible” this campaign. When asked if the streak boosted confidence in the Cherries’ dressing room,
Ryan Fredericks said “Of course. We’re a confident bunch anyway. I don’t know, everyone else outside had written us off at the start of the season but there was no talk of that in the dressing room. We’re looking to get to 40 points as quickly as possible and then kick on from there. We’re confident to go and beat anyone. I think every team we’ve played this season bar probably the best three teams in the league, we’ve had chances to win, over all of the games. Another good victory, and it shows that we haven’t come into this league to just make up the numbers. We are not going to be an easy game, we want to win every game we’re involved in.”
The home dressing room at the Vitality Stadium had a visitor after the game on Saturday, with prospective owner Bill Foley popping in to offer his congratulations. When asked what the American businessman had to say,
Ryan Fredericks said “Just well done, really. Proud of the lads, and that we’ll see more of him in the coming future. That was about it.”
With plenty of speculation regarding the takeover, Fredericks revealed the side were full focused on their football, no matter how close any potential takeover was.
Ryan Fredericks said “We’re going to give it our all, no matter who’s in charge. We really can’t afford to let outside noise affect how we play. The league is too ruthless. If you take your eye off the ball and focus on other things in the league, you’re going to get smashed. Obviously great news, wherever he is going to invest in us is yet to be seen, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Former West Ham man Fredericks marked his first start for the Dorset club with a win on Saturday, as Cherries battled back to win 2-1 against Leicester City thanks to goals from Phil Billing and Ryan Christie. Victory for Cherries put them on 12 points from their first nine games, meaning they are over a quarter of the way towards their target. The 40-point mark is often used as shorthand for the tally required to stay up in the Premier League, with only three sides in the 20-team Premier League era relegated after reaching 40 points (West Ham 2002/03, Sunderland 1996/97, Bolton 1997/98). Since Gary O’Neil was installed as interim head coach following Scott Parker’s dismissal at the end of August, Cherries are unbeaten in five, picking up nine points in the process.
