Interview with Mark Salmon

Longford Town midfielder Mark Salmon in conversation with Town fan, Kieran Burke....

Q: Mark, last time I spoke to you the Town were heading into a first home game of the season against Athlone. On Friday, you take on Waterford United, four points clear at the top and with only one defeat to date. Can you believe the start you guys have had?

 A: Yeah, all the lads knew what we had in the dressing room from the day we started back in pre-season, so we weren’t surprised with the start we had. Everyone was talking about Limerick which didn't really bother us because there was no pressure on us.

Q: You got yourself on the score sheet that night against Athlone Town but you have only registered one goal since. Are you happy with your personal contribution so far or is there more to come from 'Salmo'

 A: Yes, it's always nice to score a few goals everyone likes scoring and I want to score more than a did last year. However, as long as the team is winning it doesn't really matter who scores to be honest. The goals are coming in from all over the team which is good to see.

Q: So as we mentioned earlier, its Waterford United away on Friday night in a game many are viewing as the biggest since the trip to Limerick. Would you agree with that assessment? And how do you fancy your chances down in the RSC where our record isn't the strongest?

A: Yeah, people might look and say it’s the biggest since Limerick, but the league is very tight this year and every Friday or Saturday is our biggest game of the season. We need to just keep looking after ourselves and winning as many games as possible. I think we fancy our chances anywhere we go. Confidence is high at the minute but we just have to keep working hard and getting results.

Q: There have been some great performances and some slightly less exciting showings from 'De Town' so far this season but as the saying goes "Champions win ugly" and I'm sure you will agree that's what happened against Wexford last Saturday at Flancare Park? It must give you guys great confidence knowing you can win the gritty way when required?

A: Yes, it's a good sign that we’re winning when we're not playing as well as we know we can, but we’re only 10 or 11 games into the season and there's a few new boys in the team and were only really starting to click now and get used to each other so I think we're only going to get better and better as the season goes on.

Q: Part of the reasons LTFC.ie run interviews such as this is to give the fans a better insight into the team and its players, so I was hoping perhaps you could tell us a little bit more about away day preparation and if Tony changes anything during the week to prepare you for a tough away trip like Friday's?

A: No, nothing really changes. We do our training as normal during the week. We meet up at the bus and head down to the ground. Tony will have food organized for us! One of the lads will bring a couple of DVD’s for the bus so we either watch them or have a sleep.

Q: There's always one or two bad travellers among a group, so who is the restless squad member that you have to put up with on long bus rides?

 A: Austin Skelly! I don't think he sits down for the whole trip. He just goes around annoying people haha.

Q: Turning attention to the FAI Ford Cup for a moment, 'De Town' have been handed an interesting trip to Dublin to face non-league side Cherry Orchard. Being a Dublin man yourself, do you have any knowledge on our cup opponents?

A: I don't know too much about them to be honest. The last time I played against them would have been schoolboy level in which they always had strong teams at every age, so I expect nothing less from their senior side.

Q: Longford Town have always been known as Cup specialists but personally, are you a player that enjoys cup football or is the league your bread and butter?

A: Everyone enjoys the Cup I think. It's great to get a cup run and maybe a final. Sometimes it can be good to take a break from the league as well. Everyone knows we want promotion but we also want to do well in the Cup.

Q: With Longford chasing promotion to the top flight this season is an FAI Cup run something the squad can think about and entertain or will the primary objective of promotion simply take over?

A: Yeah, like I said above, sometimes a cup run can be great for your league campaign as well. Winning games breads confidence, whether it's in the league or cup so we’re looking to go far in it (FAI Cup).

Q: Finally Mark, I am one of your wonderful Twitter followers (@salmoner8 for those of you wondering) and you do quite a bit of tweeting on football subjects other than Longford Town, with the national team one such subject you seem to like to discuss. So here's your chance......What did you make of Trap's squad and how far can we go at the Euro's?

A: Haha yeah, I give Trap a bit of stick sometimes. I would have brought Wes Hoolahan instead of Hunt. And I'd start McClean ahead of McGeady. Other than that I think the team picks itself. As a midfielder I'd like to see Fahey or Gibson start alongside one of the regulars just because they are a bit more attack minded.