Brentford star Ivan Toney opens up on darkest period of career ahead of return
Understandably, Ivan Toney is looking only forward ahead of his eagerly-awaited return to football next week.
With Arsenal once-again labouring in front of goal in the FA Cup and both Manchester United and Chelsea hunting strikers, the 27-year-old’s comeback could not be better timed. With his eight-month exile for breaking betting rules at an end, Toney refuses to look back in anger at the process, his punishment or even his ban from training with his Brentford team-mates.
Instead there is only focus and a desire to live up to the hype, starting with his club’s Premier League home game against Nottingham Forest on January 20. With European Championship football this summer his target and Brentford knee-deep in a nightmare run of seven defeats from their last eight, the stage is set for Toney to once again make his mark.
“I’m hungry. Hungry and excited,” he said. “Being out for so long, especially when you don’t have an injury [is hard]. I’m hungry to get back on the pitch and do what I enjoy doing.”
A hat-trick and an assist in Saturday’s Brentford B-team game against Southampton ’s Under-23’s lit up social media as fans were assured of his well being. At the time of his exile last May, Toney had scored 21 times in 34 Premier League games, earning an England call up and the admiration of the biggest clubs in the country.
Transfer news live - Fernandez flying in for Chelsea and Man Utd land Sabitzer
After a punishing training regime stateside in Nashville during his time away, he is ready to pick up where he left off - even if some critics doubt his ability to do so. “It's always unfinished business when you haven’t been playing for a while,” he said.
“It's in your head. It’s like, I can't wait to get back and do what everybody's not expecting me to. I know that there are a lot of people thinking: ‘Can he do this, or can he do that?’, or ‘How's he gonna be when he gets back?’
“I know what I'm capable of, so I guess when I get onto the pitch I’ll just do what I do best.” Toney was banned after being found guilty of 232 betting offences in May.
Asked whether he’d been able to work on himself since the ban, he replied: “I feel like I have. I feel that sometimes you just need a break from a lot of things. Just to go somewhere and clear your head.”
Brentford's Ivan Toney has opened up on his time away from football as he served an eight-month banHis decision to now keep his counsel over the gambling issue which robbed him of so much football will continue to spark debate in some quarters. But Toney is more keen to repay the backing of the people who helped him through it, including Brentford boss Thomas Frank and his club.
But it was the support of his dad, Ivan Sr, and his tightly-knit family that saw him through the darkest period of his career. “My dad kept saying to me: ‘Elite mentality, you’re an elite player’. Make sure that'll you are doing these things, pushing yourself.
“When that’s getting drilled into your head you start to believe it and understand you are an elite player. Everyone close to me - family, friends - has played a part.”
Initially Toney’s punishment affected him so deeply he chose not to watch with his nose pressed up against the Premier League glass. “There was a stage where I fell out of love with football,” he said. “I didn't watch it for a while. I’d say a month and a bit.
“I did watch Brentford games. I’d flick it on and I'd have it in the background just listening to the chances or the scoreline whereas before that I’d watch every Premier League game possible. League One, League Two - every league on TV.
Toney fired 20 goals for Brentford last season and is eager to return to action (Clive Rose/Getty Images)“I kind of punished myself. But then I thought: ‘That’s not really helping me.” Toney was not originally allowed to resume training at the club until September 17.
Premier League teams' January transfer window grades as Chelsea splash cash
That was in stark contrast to Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, banned for ten months by the Italian FA with no stipulation that he couldn’t train with his team-mates. “I was confused,” said Toney. “But what's done is done now. I can't dwell on that kind of thing or claim it's not fair because life’s not fair. We all know this.
“In life you’ve just got to get on with things. The more you dwell on it, the more it's going to hurt you. Especially when you can't change something. It's pointless and its just not going to sit right in your head. So yes, it probably isn't fair, but who cares?”
Asked about his mental health, the striker went on: "It was a bit of a roller coaster. But I feel I'm quite strong. And I just look at the positives in life. There's always somebody worse off. My situation was that I just couldn’t play football. Other people in life are actually fighting for their lives.
Toney sat down for an exclusive interview with Mirror Football's Darren Lewis“You can't take anything for granted - you just have to look at the positives. Things happen for a reason.” Reflecting on the support from his team-mates, he went on: “Literally everybody sent me messages. I could go through the whole team.
“Especially the captain, Christian Norgaard, who was talking to me throughout. He sat me down and was like: ‘How are you? How are you - in yourself? Is everything okay?’
“And that meant a lot. For somebody to actually sit me down and ask me a question. Because I feel that my kind of personality is kind of strong. I normally always am this bubbly person. For someone to actually sit you down and ask you actually: ‘how are you?’
“It meant a lot and showed that he actually cared, along with all my other teammates.” Now set to return to the heart of the Brentford dressing room, Toney wants his goals to do the talking.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
