Friday, February 08, 2013

'Life's A Gas' Meets... Ryan Brunt

In the first of what is hopefully a new fortnightly feature, I've this week caught up with Rovers striker Ryan Brunt and asked him just how he's settling in to life at the club. Brunty also speaks about his debut, his first Gas goal and offers his opinion on the support of Gasheads and how they make an away game feel like a 'home' match.



NB: Hi Ryan! It's been a great start to your Rovers career hasn't it? How have you found your first few weeks at the club since joining?

RB: I've really enjoyed my first few weeks, we've had a few great results and scoring the winner in extra time in front of the home fans against Barnet, that was something special.

NB: Have you found the transition from Stoke to Rovers strange and was it a difficult decision to leave the Britannia Stadium for the Mem?

RB: Simple answer to that is no, as I've been out on loan a few times I knew exactly what I would be moving to, so there was no surprise. Of course its a difficult decision leaving a Premier League club, but to progress in my career as quickly as possible I thought that the move to Rovers would be the best option for me.

NB: Gasheads were delighted when it was announced you had signed a 2 and-a-half-year deal here. As a player does it help you to settle in knowing that you have a long-term future with the club?


RB: 100%. The chance to settle and get some consistency in my football is important for me. Not only to develop as a player but also progress in my life.

NB: Did Tony Pulis give you any advice before you moved to Bristol?

RB: Tony Pulis was very good to me while I was at Stoke, the advice he always gave me was to work as hard as possible and everything else will take care of itself.

NB: We know you were formerly at our red friends the other side of the city (we don't hold that against you!) but what did you know about Rovers before committing to the club?

RB: I knew it was a huge club with great fan base. The week I signed we got permission for the new stadium, thats a massive step in the right direction and made me realise what the club's potential really was.

NB: You made your debut in a tricky looking game up in Rotherham. How did you find the experience and could you have hoped for a better start?


RB: It was a great start, it couldn't have really gone any better (unless I scored!!) the boys worked hard and we got our rewards.

NB: The new-improved Rovers have gone from strength to strength recently and we attracted our highest home attendance of the season in last Friday's victory over Barnet when you scored an injury-time winner! What was it like to play in front of 8500 Gasheads and describe the moments leading up to and following your goal...


RB: At around 60 minutes in I think there was a throw-in when the ball went in the crowd. I stood and listened to the fans singing for a few seconds in full flow and it was amazing. I couldn't believe it to be honest, the noise was incredible.

For my goal I flicked the ball on down the right wing and thought to myself: 'I have to get in the box, I'm not going to score from here!' So I made my way towards the box as quick as I could (feeling very heavy legged!!) and the ball fell for me. I knew I had a player behind me so i just hit it as early as I could and it crept in. The noise when it went in was amazing, although everything else was a blur after having all the lads pile on top of me! I do remember getting cramp during the celebration though, that wasn't so nice!!

NB: Ryan, can you offer us your expert opinion on Oli Norburn's goal Tuesday night against Cheltenham? John-Joe O'Toole jokingly tweeted that he thought it was a 'shank', but how would you describe it? Great technique or a hit and hope?!


RB: What a goal, all I can say!

NB: What's the mood like in the camp ahead of the tricky away game at Oxford United on Saturday?

RB: Its good but we know what position we are in. If we take the last few games and build on them I think we will be able to get something out of the game.

NB: It's likely that 2000+ Gasheads will follow the team to the Kassam Stadium. How big a help can that be?

RB: Support is massive full stop. I said to JJ [John-Joe O'Toole] before the Cheltenham game when the fans were singing before kick-off: 'this is like a home game.' It was a great feeling.

NB: And finally... what will you consider to be a successful end to the season?


RB: I think we need to focus on staying in the football league and if that happens, that will be the best outcome.

NB: Thanks for your time Ryan. Good luck on Saturday and welcome once again to Bristol Rovers!

Catch Ryan on Twitter: @Bruntyy

1 comment:

  1. Excellent interview Nath. Looking forward to seeing more of these.

    ReplyDelete

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