Richard Stearman interview on leaving Wolves and life at Fulham
Friday 25 September 2015 15:44, UK
Richard Stearman talks to Sky Sports about swapping Wolves for Fulham and chasing promotion to the Premier League ahead of Friday night’s west London derby against QPR…
The likes of Anthony Martial and David de Gea may have dominated the news agenda, but one of the most intriguing moves of Deadline Day came a little lower down the football pyramid.
Richard Stearman collected a Player of the Year double at Wolves' end-of-season awards night in May. The defensive stalwart had just helped them to within a whisker of the play-offs having led their promotion charge from League One in 2013/14, and after seven years of service it seemed unthinkable that his future lay elsewhere.
So when Wolves accepted an offer from Fulham in the final days of the transfer window, it was hardly surprising that their supporters were up in arms. Manager Kenny Jackett described it as a "football decision", but Stearman was an experienced head and a dependable performer, and having only turned 28 in August, he was also entering his prime.
That he had started every one of Wolves' league games in 2015, even captaining the side in Danny Batth's absence this season, made it all the more surprising.
Three weeks later, Stearman reflects on the move at Fulham's Motspur Park training ground. "I'd heard a few rumours that Fulham were interested earlier in the summer, but for the bid to be accepted did come as bit of a surprise," he told Sky Sports.
"I had a great affinity with the club having been there for so long. I'd ridden the rollercoaster of promotions and relegations and I got on with the fans really well. It was obviously tough for me to leave but that's football. You're never in one place forever and I'm delighted that I've joined such a good club."
Stearman, an athletic and uncompromising defender with an unlikely penchant for the Cruyff turn, was thrust straight into the heart of Fulham's back four for their 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers. He has played every minute of their last three games, and he is already feeling comfortable in his new south west London surroundings.
"The lads have been great with me," he said. "I obviously knew a couple of the faces before I came into the dressing room, but everyone's been great. The staff have helped me settle in and made it an easy transition for me moving here. Hopefully I can repay them with some performances on the pitch.
"Last season I picked up quite a few awards personally and I'm very happy with the way I've been playing for the past couple of years. That's culminated in managing to move clubs, so I feel I'm in the best form of my career so far. It's something I'm hoping to continue."
Stearman's seven-year stay at Molineux included over 70 appearances in the Premier League. Fulham's head coach Kit Symons was eager to add that experience to a young dressing room at Craven Cottage, and Stearman is relishing his responsibility as one of their most senior players.
"I think the experience is one of the reasons why I was bought to the club, not just in this league but the one above," he said. "I'm here to add to some of the other experienced heads we've got in the dressing room and try to help the squad along."
Stearman's know-how will be invaluable when Fulham host QPR in Friday night's west London derby live on Sky Sports 1. "I can't wait for it," he said. "Everyone's been telling me how much of a big fixture it is. The fans want bragging rights having not played them last season. It's one they are really looking forward to and hopefully we can give them the three points and send them home happy."
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Victory over QPR could lift Fulham into the top 10 after a stuttering start to the season. The Cottagers are aiming for a return to the Premier League after spending much of the last campaign battling the drop - and Stearman sees promotion potential among his new team-mates.
"I wouldn't have wanted to join the club if not," he said. "It was a big pull for me. The players they've got in the dressing room, the set-up, the facilities, the stadium, the fans… Everything rolled into one was attractive to me."
Stearman knows what it takes to win promotion in the fiercely competition environment of the Football League. "It takes lot of hard work, sprinkled with a bit of luck," he said. "I've been lucky enough to do it twice. It's tough to get it all together and eventually get promoted, but I certainly see a lot of traits in this dressing room that emulate what I've done previously. It bodes for an exciting period for the club."
Stearman has been reunited him with his former Wolves team-mate Jamie O'Hara at Fulham, and he admits he sought the midfielder's advice before making the switch. "I had a quick chat with Jamie and he had nothing but good things to say about the place, which only added to what I'd already heard and my own thoughts on it," he said.
"It's great to see him again and see him back out on the pitch doing so well. He's been performing very well from what I've seen. He's had a great start to the season."
Stearman is not the type to dwell on the past, but he will confront his former Wolves team-mates just a month after his surprising departure when they visit Craven Cottage next week.
"It's the way things go, isn't it?" he said. "It will be great to see some of the lads and staff, but at the end of the day I'm here to do a job and that's to pick up three points. I certainly won't be going easy on them."
Tickets for Fulham v QPR on Friday at Craven Cottage are available to purchase visit: www.fulhamfc.com/tickets
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