He's A Lita And A Half!

The Incider caught up with City’s new boy wonder Leroy Lita for an exclusive interview after a training session. The down-to-earth teenage striker tells how he is determined to keep his feet on the ground after his dramatic last-minute winner at Port Vale catapulted him into the limelight – and how he has seen too many teenage hopefuls fade away to bask in the glory of his first goal and sit back on his heels.

Leroy celebrates his goal. He's a Lita and a half! 

How did it feel scoring such a dramatic winning goal against Port Vale?

It was the best feeling in the world. I’ve been longing to score my first goal for City, and for it to be a winner in the last minute made it extra special.

You showed excellent strength in holding off the defender to score that goal. Is that something you have been working on?

I’m naturally very strong, but I’ve also done a lot of work with weights in the gym. It’s an important part of my game and something I’ve been working on for the last year or so.

The other players must have been delighted with your goal against Port Vale. What did they say to you?

They were all delighted for me and every one of them came over to congratulate me. The team spirit is excellent and all the players were pleased for me. 

You celebrated your goal in a very athletic way. Has Danny said anything about it, or is he happy for you to carry on doing it?

He hasn’t mentioned it. It’s something I’ve always done and as far as I’m aware the gaffer doesn’t have a problem with it. I think everyone was too happy after the Port Vale game to say anything, in any case.

Given your performance against Port Vale, were you disappointed to be left out against Chesterfield?

Not at all, I was expecting it. I’m still very young and learning the game. I’m thoroughly enjoying what I’m doing and being involved with the first team. If the manager asks me to play then I will go on and do my best, but I don’t expect to walk into the first team on the back of scoring one goal. I’m not one of these moaning players who expects to be picked because of one good performance. Beads and Chris have played very well together for the last couple of games and I fully expect them to carry on being the starting pair from the players we currently have available. I’m sure I’ll get my chance again, but until then I will continue to work hard and wait for my opportunity.

What are your personal ambitions for the season?

I’m just delighted to be involved with the first team. I’m going to enjoy the experience and work as hard as I can to stay in the frame. Obviously if I get opportunities to play, I want to score as many goals as I can. My feet are on the ground and I’m not big-headed. Many players have been brilliant prospects at my age, only to disappear without trace. I am determined this won’t happen to me, and I want to be the best player I can possibly be.

Prior to a game, who are the players who get the team pumped up and ready to play?

The whole spirit is excellent within the team. No specific players go around pumping the others up. Generally we are all up on our feet, walking around and encouraging each other. It’s a team effort.

And what music is played in the dressing room, does anyone hog the stereo?

Beads started bringing his stereo into the dressing room this season to have some music going, but he doesn’t hog it. It varies from week to week depending on who brings music in with them.

And what about Danny? Are his team talks strong and emotional or does he prefer the quiet, calm approach?

Danny is usually pretty calm in the dressing room, but he certainly knows the right things to say to get the players focussed and ready for the game.

Prior to City you were on Chelsea’s books. What are the main differences you’ve noticed between the two clubs?

I was with Chelsea as a schoolboy and trained with them twice a week. To be fair, the main difference is that at Chelsea the young players know that realistically they have little or no chance of playing for the first team. At City it’s totally different. If you prove yourself to be a good quality player you will be given your chance. In terms of opportunities for young players to break into first team football I would say that Bristol City is the best club in the country. I’m not just saying that because I play for City, I honestly think that there is an excellent feeling among the Academy players because they know that if they work hard and produce the goods they will get their chance. You only have to look at the current first team squad to see that this is true.

Obviously you’re only just breaking into the first team, but is there a player who you would prefer to play alongside up front for City?

As you say, I’m only just breaking into the team, so I haven’t had chance to build up a real relationship with any of the other forwards at the club yet. But I would say that Peter Beadle is an exceptional link player. I watch him all the time when he’s playing and some of the things he does are amazing. There is a lot I can learn from him in terms of dropping off and linking play. I would say he is the best player at the club in doing that, and possibly in the division.

Do you ever read The Bristol City Fans’ Forum on the official website?

I did look at it once, after the QPR game, which probably wasn’t the best time to go on there. It’s interesting to see things from the perspective of the fans, but I don’t make a habit of looking at it.

What about the other players? Do they ever discuss what is being said on the forum?

No, nobody ever talks about it. It’s probably not a very positive thing to dwell on what people are saying about us, be it good or bad. Criticism can affect a player’s performance, so we just concentrate on what we are doing and try to give the fans the success on the pitch that we all want.

The Incider is a relatively new website, will you be looking at it in future and encouraging the other players to do likewise?

Yes, definitely. I know Liam has one of your t-shirts, and that you sponsor him. Incidentally, I don’t have a sponsor for my away shirt at the moment, so perhaps The Incider could sponsor me too for doing this interview!

Generally, City have had a good start to the season. Is the team happy with the way things have gone so far?

Yes, we’re happy at the moment. We’ve dropped points, but I think that in most games where that’s happened we’ve been unlucky more than anything else. The time to judge it will be at the end of the season though. We’re happy for now, but we know there’s a lot of work to do yet.

And finally, where do you realistically feel that City can finish this season?

The way we’ve played so far, and from what I’ve seen of other teams in this division, I would say that there is nobody who can play and pass at our tempo. We are more than capable of beating every team in this division and I see no reason why we can’t get promotion. Obviously there’s a long way to go, but the team spirit is superb and we definitely have the ability within the squad to go up.

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