Post by Taxigirl on Jan 21, 2006 9:26:40 GMT
www.leedsunited.com
United ace David Healy believes his career is about to peak and he insists it will be at Elland Road and nowhere else.
Leeds fans can hardly go a day without seeing speculation linking the Northern Ireland international with a move away from the club to the Premiership, the latest rumours being Everton and West Bromwich Albion.
The 26-year-old has found himself having to compete for one of two places upfront this season with manager Kevin Blackwell able to also pick from Rob Hulse, Richard Cresswell and Robbie Blake, and as such he hasn't played as often as he would have liked, but that doesn't mean he is unhappy.
In fact, the Ulsterman insists things have never been better at the club since his arrival in October 2004, and he believes the best is still to come.
"I'm not going anywhere, I am happy, I love the club and I love the players," he said, nailing dead those departure rumours.
"Leeds went out of their way to sign me last year when things were not as rosy as they are at the minute, and they spent a lot of money and put a lot of faith in me and hopefully I can repay that.
"I want to score as many goals as possible for this club, it's a massive club and well known throughout the world and I feel the fans have taken to me. Even after I missed the penalty on Tuesday night they were still chanting my name afterwards and that says it all for me really.
"As I said I love it here, I want to progress my career and hopefully that's here in the Premier League next year."
Seeing his name linked with every other Premiership club has not been too unsettling an experience for Healy, he's savvy enough to realise that the same thing happened in the last transfer window and the same old stories will keep cropping up.
In some ways it's flattering for David to keep being linked, but he regards it as a sign that the club itself is attracting more interest because of the success they're enjoying this season.
Said David:"I haven't been playing too much recently and people put two and two together and coming up with 14 and writing what they want, but it's that time of year.
"If I am not playing people are coming up with all sorts but I am happy here. This is where I want to progress my career, in the Premier League with these boys and they are a great bunch of boys as they proved the other night with the character we've shown to come back at Wigan twice.
"I believe we are going places, I signed at the back end of last year and things have changed ten times for the better since I've been here. This time last year we were on the brink of losing ten points through administration and we were in the bottom six, but we're in the top three now which we have been for most of the season and that's how much things have changed.
"We are proving to people that we are capable of playing teams like Wigan who are a top six Premiership side now.
"This is what I signed up for and I don't want to go anywhere, I am happy here and the family is settled here. I am hopefully going to see the peak of my career over the next few years and hopefully I will spend it here."
The only thing troubling the mind of Northern Ireland's record goalscorer is how he bounces back from his personal disappointment in his performance against Wigan.
Even though he scored twice in the game he accepts he was below par on what was his first start in four games for the Whites.
"The bigger picture is the league but when you get the chance to progress in the FA Cup like we did tonight, it's disappointing to lose.
"There was probably nobody more disappointed than I was with the way I played in the first half, I dug myself out of it a little bit, scored a tap in, and throughout the game I know I can play a lot better. The penalty I did score the keeper was there and probably thought he should have saved it.
"The way we were knocked out is disappointing from a personal and a team point of view.
"It was nice to get a start but I did feel a little bit off the pace in the first half. I've missed a few games but we are all fit enough and ready to play."
Sheffield Wednesday could just feel a bit of a backlash from Healy if he's given his chance, and he'll want to do well in what is anticipated to be the biggest crowd of the season at Elland Road.
"We have a bit of a score to settle with Sheffield Wednesday, we played one of our worst games of the season at Hillsborough, so it will be good for us to go out there in front of a big crowd and put on a show.
"It's going to be a big game for both teams and we have to make sure we win it."
United ace David Healy believes his career is about to peak and he insists it will be at Elland Road and nowhere else.
Leeds fans can hardly go a day without seeing speculation linking the Northern Ireland international with a move away from the club to the Premiership, the latest rumours being Everton and West Bromwich Albion.
The 26-year-old has found himself having to compete for one of two places upfront this season with manager Kevin Blackwell able to also pick from Rob Hulse, Richard Cresswell and Robbie Blake, and as such he hasn't played as often as he would have liked, but that doesn't mean he is unhappy.
In fact, the Ulsterman insists things have never been better at the club since his arrival in October 2004, and he believes the best is still to come.
"I'm not going anywhere, I am happy, I love the club and I love the players," he said, nailing dead those departure rumours.
"Leeds went out of their way to sign me last year when things were not as rosy as they are at the minute, and they spent a lot of money and put a lot of faith in me and hopefully I can repay that.
"I want to score as many goals as possible for this club, it's a massive club and well known throughout the world and I feel the fans have taken to me. Even after I missed the penalty on Tuesday night they were still chanting my name afterwards and that says it all for me really.
"As I said I love it here, I want to progress my career and hopefully that's here in the Premier League next year."
Seeing his name linked with every other Premiership club has not been too unsettling an experience for Healy, he's savvy enough to realise that the same thing happened in the last transfer window and the same old stories will keep cropping up.
In some ways it's flattering for David to keep being linked, but he regards it as a sign that the club itself is attracting more interest because of the success they're enjoying this season.
Said David:"I haven't been playing too much recently and people put two and two together and coming up with 14 and writing what they want, but it's that time of year.
"If I am not playing people are coming up with all sorts but I am happy here. This is where I want to progress my career, in the Premier League with these boys and they are a great bunch of boys as they proved the other night with the character we've shown to come back at Wigan twice.
"I believe we are going places, I signed at the back end of last year and things have changed ten times for the better since I've been here. This time last year we were on the brink of losing ten points through administration and we were in the bottom six, but we're in the top three now which we have been for most of the season and that's how much things have changed.
"We are proving to people that we are capable of playing teams like Wigan who are a top six Premiership side now.
"This is what I signed up for and I don't want to go anywhere, I am happy here and the family is settled here. I am hopefully going to see the peak of my career over the next few years and hopefully I will spend it here."
The only thing troubling the mind of Northern Ireland's record goalscorer is how he bounces back from his personal disappointment in his performance against Wigan.
Even though he scored twice in the game he accepts he was below par on what was his first start in four games for the Whites.
"The bigger picture is the league but when you get the chance to progress in the FA Cup like we did tonight, it's disappointing to lose.
"There was probably nobody more disappointed than I was with the way I played in the first half, I dug myself out of it a little bit, scored a tap in, and throughout the game I know I can play a lot better. The penalty I did score the keeper was there and probably thought he should have saved it.
"The way we were knocked out is disappointing from a personal and a team point of view.
"It was nice to get a start but I did feel a little bit off the pace in the first half. I've missed a few games but we are all fit enough and ready to play."
Sheffield Wednesday could just feel a bit of a backlash from Healy if he's given his chance, and he'll want to do well in what is anticipated to be the biggest crowd of the season at Elland Road.
"We have a bit of a score to settle with Sheffield Wednesday, we played one of our worst games of the season at Hillsborough, so it will be good for us to go out there in front of a big crowd and put on a show.
"It's going to be a big game for both teams and we have to make sure we win it."