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Remi Matthews feels his current first-team run at Wanderers validates the decision to quit Norwich City last month.
The keeper found himself stuck in limbo during the transfer window when a registration embargo at Bolton forced him to return unexpectedly to the Canaries.
Matthews had the option of staying at Carrow Road for the remainder of his contract, or heading out elsewhere on loan, but chose to return to the North West, once Wanderers’ issues were sorted, to compete against Ben Alnwick for the number one spot.
A knee injury to Alnwick meant he got an almost instant reward – and Matthews is likely to start his seventh consecutive game when Phil Parkinson’s side travel to face Leeds United tomorrow.
“I could have stayed there (at Norwich) when I went back in January but I wanted to come back to this football club and push to play regularly,” Matthews said.
“I think you can only go out on loan so many times before you get to the stage where you say: ‘Am I really going to have a chance here?’ “It was a tough decision and probably one of the toughest things I have had to do, as it was my team growing up and the main thing for me was playing for Norwich City.
“However, I have no regrets towards the decision I made.”
Matthews put on a man-of-the-match performance against his former club last weekend despite being on the wrong end of a 4-0 drubbing.
It promises to be another testing afternoon at Elland Road, where one eye will also be on Reading’s home game against Rotherham in the hope a three-point gap to safety can at least be maintained.
Parkinson has been without Gary O’Neil, Luca Connell, Marc Wilson, Andy Taylor, Ben Alnwick and Jack Hobbs in the last few weeks and is due to give an update on their availability this afternoon.
The odds are stacked against Wanderers repeating last season’s dash for safety but counting in their favour, says Matthews, is a genuine sense of unity within the camp.
“There have been times where I have been at other clubs and it hasn’t been going well and all of a sudden, people are turning against one another,” he said.
“But here, it hasn’t been like that at all. It has been tough though, as we have been performing okay but not picking up the results that we needed.
“The lads are a good bunch, however, and that is definitely one of the reasons that I came back.”
Source
The keeper found himself stuck in limbo during the transfer window when a registration embargo at Bolton forced him to return unexpectedly to the Canaries.
Matthews had the option of staying at Carrow Road for the remainder of his contract, or heading out elsewhere on loan, but chose to return to the North West, once Wanderers’ issues were sorted, to compete against Ben Alnwick for the number one spot.
A knee injury to Alnwick meant he got an almost instant reward – and Matthews is likely to start his seventh consecutive game when Phil Parkinson’s side travel to face Leeds United tomorrow.
“I could have stayed there (at Norwich) when I went back in January but I wanted to come back to this football club and push to play regularly,” Matthews said.
“I think you can only go out on loan so many times before you get to the stage where you say: ‘Am I really going to have a chance here?’ “It was a tough decision and probably one of the toughest things I have had to do, as it was my team growing up and the main thing for me was playing for Norwich City.
“However, I have no regrets towards the decision I made.”
Matthews put on a man-of-the-match performance against his former club last weekend despite being on the wrong end of a 4-0 drubbing.
It promises to be another testing afternoon at Elland Road, where one eye will also be on Reading’s home game against Rotherham in the hope a three-point gap to safety can at least be maintained.
Parkinson has been without Gary O’Neil, Luca Connell, Marc Wilson, Andy Taylor, Ben Alnwick and Jack Hobbs in the last few weeks and is due to give an update on their availability this afternoon.
The odds are stacked against Wanderers repeating last season’s dash for safety but counting in their favour, says Matthews, is a genuine sense of unity within the camp.
“There have been times where I have been at other clubs and it hasn’t been going well and all of a sudden, people are turning against one another,” he said.
“But here, it hasn’t been like that at all. It has been tough though, as we have been performing okay but not picking up the results that we needed.
“The lads are a good bunch, however, and that is definitely one of the reasons that I came back.”
Source