Campbell demanding more from himself

Chem Campbell is putting pressure on himself to score and assist more goals for James Collins’ under-23s side this season.

The attacker was speaking after the old gold defeated Fulham 2-1 in the PL2 – a game which saw Campbell create the first and score the second in Kidderminster. The club’s second youngest ever appearance maker was yet to open his account for 2021/22 until Monday, but did so crucially, bagging the second goal, before the Cottagers pulled one back and found the mountain too big to climb.

On being involved in both goals

“The first, the gaffer always says test the full-back and see what he’s got, so I thought just run, the second guy dived in, so I chipped it over him, and I thought it was in, but luckily the keeper parried it to Owen and he scored.

“Then my dad is always telling me to take my chances, to shoot earlier, to shoot more, so I had a few shots in the first-half and didn’t catch them well, but in the second-half when it came to me I thought I was just going to hit it and thankfully it went in.”

On demanding more from himself

“I’m hard on myself, I think I’ve started the season well, the first three or four games, but haven’t really got the goals or assists, so on Monday I started shooting more and luckily it went in at the end.

“I want more assists and goals, to create more chances, and I’ve got to keep being tough on myself. I can’t just ride through games playing well but not providing, so I’m tough and it’s starting to pay off a bit.”

On the result over performance

“We made it hard for ourselves. I think we started well in the first ten minutes, but they were on top for the rest of the game. When we got in at half-time, our coaches demanded more of us, so we came out second-half and dug in and got the win.

“In league games, you’ve got to find a way to win, sometimes it’s not pretty, you can’t have all the ball, but I’m glad we got the win.

“Last season, if a team scored first or got a couple, we’d lose our heads and not dig in. On Monday, I thought we did that. Sometimes you’ve got to dig deep and get the result.”

On a big season for him

“Last season I had an injury, I was a bit in and out of the team, so pre-season I worked hard and tried to get back on my game and do more in games – that’s what is going to get me noticed by the gaffer or different clubs who may want to take me out on loan in January. I’ve just got to keep going.”