Andy Griffin: Glad to be back

By Matthew Jones
October 9 2002

Defender Andy Griffin has revealed what he thinks helped him onto the first-team again. He reveals his "secret" - how he plays the game.

Newcastle United's Andy Griffin has revealed that his "no-nonsense" style of footballing has been the key ingredient to his first-team comeback on Tyneside.

The tough-tackling former Stoke full-back has been a revelation on Tyneside since making his first start of the season against Dynamo Kiev last month.

Andy declares that his style of footballing involves the basic stuff you learn when you first start footballing. No fancy stuff. Win the ball and clear it. Back to basics.

"I'm just an old-fashioned, no-nonsense defender," he said. "It's the way I am, and I'm prepared for a battle. Basically I've just been playing to my strengths, and that means tackling. I'm not going to ping the ball over 50 yards like Glenn Hoddle or cause defenders havoc like Kieron Dyer, but I like to think that what I've got is necessary to a team as well."