Blackburn Rovers (H) | Hazard's Preview
As Argyle prepare to face Blackburn Rovers on Saturday at Home Park, Conor Hazard is hoping that the Greens’ recent performance levels will be converted into three points.
In the last two Sky Bet Championship fixtures Argyle have played particularly well, at home to Southampton and away at Birmingham City, only to lose to injury-time goals.
Goalkeeper Hazard, a summer acquisition from Celtic, is philosophical about the nature of the division, and says the players are fully focused on getting maximum points from the visit of Blackburn, which is Argyle’s last before the international break.
He told Argyle TV: “We put in two good performances; we felt like we didn't deserve how the games ended, but that's football. It's a cruel, cruel world where one lack of concentration can cost you.
“We're at this level now where minute millimetres are the difference between winning a game and losing a game - unfortunately we were on the other end.
“Every game is a new game. We analyse them, but at the end of the day, we focus on ourselves. They're coming to our turf. We've got the 12th man here, and we're looking to put on a show.
“We're not really looking into when the game is, we're looking at how we're going to play this weekend, how we're going to set up and how we're going to score goals.
“It could be the last game of the season or the first game of the season, it’s three points or a point that will could matter at the end of the season.
“I've only been in the club now just over six weeks, but I've never felt so settled in.
“I think that's due to the Gaffer and Daz (goalkeeping coach Darren Behcet), and also all the boys. They've welcomed me in so well. It's such a good group to be a part of. We fight for each other and we believe in each other. At the end of the day, we want to help each other.”
Next week sees an international ‘break’ in terms of fixtures for Argyle, but Conor will be heading off with Northern Ireland for games against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.
The 25-year-old has four caps for his country, and has the chance to add to that having been brought into the squad for the first time since March 2022.
On hearing of the call-up, Conor said: “It was brilliant. I love going away with them. They're a great bunch of boys as well. We're going to two hard games - Slovenia away and Kazakhstan away - which is quite a bit of traveling, so it'll be good for all the boys to get together and hopefully win the two games.
“We're meeting up in a different country now on Sunday. Normally we get a few days at home but because of the amount of travel, it's probably better for all the boys to meet at the first game, which is in Slovenia.
“The boys are great. Everyone gets on with each other; it's a bit like here. There's a great camaraderie about the place and I'm sure everyone's looking forward to it.”
