Chris Gunter couldn’t wipe the smile off his face on Monday afternoon after putting pen to paper with AFC Wimbledon – and he was certainly quick to set out his vision for the future.
The Welsh international’s reputation speaks for itself, having turned out for his country on over 100 occasions and taken in the sights and sounds of the UEFA European Championships back in 2016.
Now the former Nottingham Forest, Reading and Charlton full-back has provided us with his initial thoughts after committing to the Dons, as we discussed his targets for the season ahead, the FIFA World Cup, and much more in a wide-ranging conversation.
You can read the full transcript of Chris’s first interview with us below and you can now watch it on our official YouTube channel.
Q: Chris, welcome to Wimbledon. How does it feel to be here?
A: I’m really pleased. It’s always good when you finish talking to a club and get signed. I can’t wait to get started.
Q: Given your previous experience it’s probably fair to assume that you had interest from elsewhere. Why is this the right club for you?
A: Once the manager called me it made sense for me to come here. I’m excited about it and everything works for me to be here. I’m really thankful that he called me, I know what the aim is for us this season and hopefully we can achieve it.
Q: You know Johnnie Jackson from your time at Charlton together. What makes him a manager that you want to play under?
A: He’s a good guy. He treats people properly. He’s someone you can speak to and he’s always honest – there’s no messing around. On and off the pitch I feel he’s going to go on and have a really good career. I’m pleased that I can be a part of it.
Q: Did the aim to fight for promotion attract you?
A: I think that when you’re looking for a club, you want to be playing for a team that’s at the right end of the table. One that has targets and ambitions. But having said that I think it’s easy to be sat before a balls kicked and be saying that the aim is promotion. There’s probably 18 to 20 other teams in the league saying the same thing. It’s fantastic for us to have that target but we have to go about doing it.
Q: You’ve played in some great sides at both Nottingham Forest and Reading and in the Wales national team. What would you say is the key to maintaining good team spirit?
A: The most important thing is having good people. In terms of within the squad and within the staff, you need to have a level of respect for each other and want each other to do well. Over the course of the season there are times when it’s going well and it’s fantastic but at the same time you learn about people more when things are a bit more fragile.
Q: For our supporters who haven’t seen you in action, what positions can you play and what are your strengths?
A: I’m originally a full-back. Over the last couple of years in the teams I’ve played in I’ve played wing-back and also on the side of a back three. I’ve been shoved to left-back a few times! I’m comfortable at playing anywhere across the back. I’m always wary of saying what my strengths are, but I would say my main strength is that I’ll give everything I’ve got from Monday to Friday on the training pitch and in games.
Q: At this stage of your career what is the most important thing for you?
A: Playing regularly. I want to be training well and in a good environment. The World Cup is coming up at the back end of this year, so that’s obviously something that’s very much in my mind. The dream situation for me would be that we have a good season at club level and we (Wales) have a really good World Cup. That would be terrific.
Q: Lastly, what is your message to our fans?
A: I can’t wait to get going. I’ve played at the stadium before. I know how good the support can be. We’ll need you, so stick with us, and we’ll try and repay you with some good times.
PICS: Lucy Dixon