Honest Alex Gilbert opens up on frustration, Middlesbrough 'love' and hope after Hull
THERE have been times when Alex Gilbert has sat on the sidelines at Middlesbrough and wondered when his next opportunity would come.
But never during his frustrating wait for action has Gilbert considered giving up on his Boro hopes and looking elsewhere in his search for regular football.
And after his standout moment in a Boro shirt so far, scoring the crucial winner in the final seconds at Hull on New Year's Day, a goal that will live with him forever, Gilbert said: "Hopefully we can give the fans more moments like that and they can see how much I want to be here and how much I want to be in the team, helping us get promoted."
Gilbert hasn't been in the team anywhere near as much as he'd have liked over the course of the last 18 months since joining from Brentford.
Before getting an opportunity in the final fortnight of last season, he played just 58 minutes in the Championship in what was a testing first season at the Riverside.
He took his chance in the final three games of last season and impressed, which prompted Boro to resist any temptation to allow him to leave on loan in the summer. But his momentum was halted with a knee injury early in the current campaign and when he returned Boro's attack had clicked, which meant opportunities were again hard to come by.
Before coming off the bench late on at Hull, Gilbert had only featured in 34 Championship minutes all season. Despite Gilbert's struggle for action, boss Michael Carrick confirmed last month he wanted to keep the forward rather than sanction a January loan. That's music to Gilbert's ears, and the 23-year-old is desperate to play a role in the second half of the season at the Riverside.
“For me personally, it’s been difficult," he admitted in an interview with BBC Tees after the Hull game.
"The lads in those forward areas that I’m challenging for have been doing so well and it’s difficult when you’re on the sideline for long periods of time and you’re trying to fight your way in.
"When you only get little minutes here and there, it can be difficult to make an impact. Thankfully tonight went really well, but often it’s hard to get yourself in the game. Hopefully moments like this can help me keep chipping away to keep me in the mind of the gaffer.
"It has been difficult and there’s no hiding from the fact that I’ve wanted more opportunities than I’ve had. But I’ve loved it here. I get on well with all the lads, it’s a great environment to work in and I love coming in for training every day.
"They’re part of the reasons you’re always spurred on to keep working hard every day. Hopefully more goals like tonight will stand me in good stead and help the team push towards the end of the season to see what happens.
"Nights like tonight are hopefully ones we look back on and think of it as one of them moments that helped us get to where we want to get to. I’ll always remember moments like this. I remember goals going back to when I was eight years old. You never forget ones like that!”
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Gilbert had only been on the pitch for five minutes when he popped up with the winner against the Tigers.
He said: "Sometimes it’s like that - you have to come on and all you can do is try your best. There've been countless times where I’ve come on and nothing’s happened, but thankfully this was one of those times where I’ve come on and got that goal.
"Those moments are just instinct because you don’t have time to think. You make the run to where you think you need to be and before you know it, the ball’s in the net and you’re running away celebrating.
"Watching on [from the bench], you could see it was difficult. The teams like Hull that are down the bottom and scrapping for their lives will try and keep it tight. They don’t want an open, expansive game.
"We had to just keep plugging away, we hit the post with H [Hayden Hackney] and we felt it was coming and luckily it did. Sometimes it can go that way and you have to keep going until the end. The important thing is we came away with the three points.”
