Duff fighting back? Michael answers some of the criticisms aimed at him

It is interesting on occasions taking time to listen to all the questions being put towards Michael Duff when he answers questions ahead of any particular fixture and that was certainly the case yesterday when he took questions ahead of Saturday’s clash at Millwall.

The early part of the questions placed to him were about the injury issues that will see Nathan Wood, Joe Allen and Josh Ginnelly all sidelined for a large chunk of time but it was the second half of the questions that were the most interesting to watch.

There is little doubt for me that the questions were set ahead of the interview and designed to address some of the criticism aimed at Duff which includes his long term commitment to the area.   In a normal week you would not expect too many questions on how he sees this as a long term project put towards any manager who has already ten games under his belt as the manager of the club.

It felt that we were very much in a position that Duff was beginning a fight back against some of his critics and maybe something he felt entitled to after securing that all important first league win against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

The longer the interview went on the more this became evident and it became most telling when he was asked about his commitment to the area particularly on his living habits.

Duff answered: “You have to be all in as a manager.  I live in the area.  My children don’t as circumstances say they can’t as they are both doing GCSEs and I am not prepared to move them at this stage of their education.

“This is a beautiful part of the world and we have done things that i didn’t think you could do in the area despite having lived just an hour and a half up the road.

“I don’t think you ever get too comfortable, (he said with a grin on his face) – you want to throw yourself into it.  I don’t want to be fly by night.   I don’t think I jump clubs too easily in the first 27 years of my career I had two clubs.”

If he was addressing criticism of his living locations then he clearly also wanted to talk about suggestions that the squad was not all behind what he was trying to achieve and that was something else that he pushed back on.

It is important that the positivity remains,” he added.  “During the challenges, and there are more to come, the players have stuck together.   There has been no whispers in corridors everyone has stuck together.

“We are trying to improve every day.  We are having to rework a lot of things which has been the point since day one, it is about constantly trying to improve.

“I know the work that goes on here, everyone works hard and everyone is pulling in the same direction.  I just try and improve every day.

“We have a responsibility to look after the club and leave it in a better place.”

Undoubtedly for me these were questions that Duff had requested were asked and certainly if that is the case then they were in direct response to the criticism he has received.

As he prepares his side for the game against Millwall on Saturday some was very much an odd line of questioning as he also added points about how much the club means to people in the area and it was also of interest when he referenced people wishing him well last weekend ahead of that first victory.

Of course the key thing is that the proof of success for any football manager will end up being about results on the pitch but if Duff is in a fighting mood then maybe that will translate itself into results there as well.

Or at least we can all hope that is the case!