Daniel Chillingworth
Returning to the Abbey Stadium on deadline day to commence a second spell with the U's, Dan Chillingworth is relishing the opportunity to help his first club out of trouble at the wrong end of the Conference table.
Joining United at the age of 13 after a year on schoolboy forms with West Ham, 'Chilli' signed a professional contract halfway through the second year of his scholarship. He was part of the same youth team that produced U's past and present like Adam Tann, David Bridges, Franco Nacca and Alex Revell, and he went on to make his first team debut under Roy McFarland in April 2000.
In the next five years at the club he played under McFarland, John Beck, John Taylor, Claude Le Roy and Herve Renard, and Steve Thompson, and he returns after a season and a half with Rushden & Diamonds.
"I had no hesitation about rejoining the club," states the 25-year-old striker. "The challenge ahead is going to be a difficult one but I'm looking forward to it and hopefully we can get out of the relegation zone.
"I know from experience that you take each day as it comes in football, so I'm just happy to be fit and playing and if I can get a run of games I'll get my fitness up and hopefully score a few goals and help push the team up the league.
"I know I have to prove a few people wrong, both here and at Rushden, but I'm up for that challenge," he insists.
"Before last weekend I hadn't played for a couple of weeks at Rushden, so you lose a bit of match sharpness, but I trained hard while I wasn't playing and it was good to get back out there at Oxford.
"I think the game went well," Dan continues. "I think beforehand we'd probably have taken a point, but looking back afterwards I think it's a game we should have won. But there were obviously a few bad refereeing decisions and with them equalising I think overall you'd probably have taken a point."
Released by United when we were relegated from the Football League in 2005, Cambridge-born 'Chilli' joined Rushden & Diamonds but his time there was affected by an injury that eventually required a back operation.
"It didn't go as expected because of a bad hamstring injury, which resulted in an operation for a problem that took longer to find than we'd hoped.
"It was a slipped disc that was causing problems with my hamstrings and the physio at Rushden thinks it was a problem that had been going on for four or five years," he explains, "but once I had the operation to put the disc back into place I felt like a different person - no problems with my hamstrings or back.
"I finished last season on loan at Notts County and things went well, but then the new Rushden manager came in and wanted me back there. This season started quite well but then I picked up a little calf injury and that put me out, but I'm back fresh now and raring to go."
As someone who previously spent ten years at Cambridge United from the age of 13, 25-year-old Dan admits he was sorry to see relegation followed by further struggles both on and off the pitch.
"To come through the youth system at a club and to see them get relegated - and we went through it twice here, from League One and then from League Two into the Conference - it was definitely a real low point.
"It was always the first result I looked out for when I was at Rushden. I know a few of the lads still here and there were a few familiar faces when I walked in last week, so it does hurt to see the club down here.
"But I want to experience some good times in my career now and get some wins under my belt and start enjoying football again," he states.
"Cambridge is obviously a bit of a sleeping giant in this league at the moment, with the support and the facilities here. I've always had a good rapport with the fans and even when I came back on Boxing Day with Rushden I had a bit of banter; there were a few shouts and stuff like that but hopefully if I can score a few goals they'll soon be back on my side.
"I hope the fans know that every time I pull on the shirt I'll be giving 110% and doing my bit for the cause. There are probably a few wondering 'why have we got him back?' but it's up to me to prove any doubters wrong.
"It's felt a bit like coming home with some familiar faces here and the place looks the same, although there have obviously been some radical changes around the club with new management and things like that, but I've really enjoyed it so far."
The former England schoolboy international was released at the end of the 2004-05 season along with the majority of the squad as the club entered administration, so this management team is new to him, but he has found them good to work with.
"Steve Castle takes a lot of the training and he's dead keen; you can tell his heart's 100% in it and he just wants to win, even when he trains," Dan reveals. "You can tell he was a good player and a tough opponent to play against, and if some of us can take that and put it into our game then we'll be heading in the right direction.
"And it's the same for the Gaffer; he's a winner and he wants to win. Even when we do the shooting drills and stuff with him in training you can see he's played at the highest level and I hope I can learn a few things from him."
'Chilli' has also been impressed with the atmosphere and attitude in the squad upon his return and he feels sure the U's are capable of moving away from relegation trouble: "You look around the dressing room and there are some good players in there, and you think 'how can we be in the position we are?'
"It was pretty similar at Rushden, and it's a case of all pulling together and all pushing in the right direction and I'm sure we can get out of it," he adds.
"I saw Cambridge play Rushden a few weeks ago and I think Cambridge were unlucky to be on the end of that result - I think if they'd scored first then it could have been a different game - but me and the other lads will be working as hard as we can to get ourselves out of this mess."
Reluctant to set himself a goal target for the rest of the season, Dan says, "I don't really like to set targets, but I'd obviously like to score as many as possible and every time I go out on that pitch I'll just be trying my hardest to score as many as I can and help the team win."
Today's match against Grays Athletic - who are on 31 points from 29 games compared to United's 30 from 31 - is another massive game for the U's and Chilli is looking forward both to the match and to running out at the Abbey in amber and black.
"I played here a few weeks ago for Rushden and got a bit of a mixed reception, but I'm sure I'll get a good reception now I'm back and hopefully the fans know I'll play my heart out to help us to a win.
"Rushden played Grays at the start of the season and they were a good outfit. I'm not saying they're not now, but I know they've lost a couple of players - obviously Kightly and McLean have both moved on to bigger things.
"They'll be tough opposition, but we know on our day and from what I've seen so far we're as good as anyone in this league. It's just about believing and I'm sure from now to the end of the season if we're all pulling together we can definitely pull out of this, starting with three points today."
My Favourite Game:
"It would definitely have to be Boxing Day at the Abbey Stadium against Brentford in 2001. I scored the winner that day and we won 2-1, and it was probably the best goal I've scored in my career so far. Hopefully there will be a few more of them along the way!"
Andrea Thrussell
*This interview was first published in the programme for the match against Grays on 10th February, 2007
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