Carl’s hard work earns Dunn’s approval

FULLY FOCUSED . . . Carl Winchester is reaping the benefits of his efforts on the training ground.

FITTER than ever and happy to be noticed, Carl Winchester is aiming to provide plenty more crowd-pleasing moments for Athletic.

The 22 year old livened up a stale clash at Rochdale last week with a turn that left opponent Ian Henderson on his backside.

Performed in front of the 2,600 Athletic fans at Spotland, the moment of class brought the biggest cheer of the afternoon and later turned up on social media.

It confirmed that last season’s fans’ player of the year was back to his best.

“It is on Twitter at the moment,” said Winchester. “I know Crofty is good mates with Ian Henderson and sent him the link. He said he was laughing at it.”

Relaxed and positive, it hasn’t always been plain sailing for Winchester at Athletic. A year ago chairman Simon Corney revealed some coaches weren’t convinced the midfielder should be kept on.

But manager Lee Johnson saw his faith rewarded with some sterling pre-season efforts into the 2014-15 campaign. A terrific season with some stunning goals saw him end the season with a contract until the summer of 2017.

The most naturally gifted player to have emerged from the academy in years has overcome adversity again this season. Manager David Dunn asked for hard work from the former Linfield man to get into the team - and that’s what he got.

“I knew the only way I was going to get back into the side was by showing the manager in training,” Winchester said. “I needed to put that work in, and every day, I was pushing myself.

“I am glad he noticed and am glad to be back in. Now hopefully I can do what I did last season.

“It was a bit of confidence in myself that was missing. My form didn’t help, but I just told myself to work hard in training take my chances.”

Athletic’s current longest-serving player joined Latics as a 16 year old in 2010.

Now Dunn’s protégé hopes to give fans a show by helping to turn round a poor sequence of results at home, starting with tomorrow’s visit of Burton.