Andy Duncan

United's longest-serving player, with eight years at the Abbey Stadium under his belt since arriving on loan from Manchester United in January 1998, Andy Duncan is well-placed to reflect on the club's recent ups and downs.

This time last year, Steve Thompson had just been appointed manager in place of Herve Renard and there was optimism that the change would signal an upturn in United's fortunes, as Andy recalls.

"The board decided it was time for a change and when there's a new manager everyone is hoping that you can go on a run of games straightaway - that's what usually happens and that's the reaction I'm sure the board and the supporters and everyone was hoping for - but it never really happened.

"Although some new players came in, the outcome was still the same; we were relegated at the end of the season and then it was topped off by going into administration.

"It was obviously difficult for everyone," he continues, "and during the summer it was all so up and down that no one knew what was going to happen from day to day, but thankfully the club pulled through and although we're playing our football in the Conference we're still here today."

Reflecting on the second half of last season, and the current situation at the club, the 28-year-old Club Captain adds, "Steve Thompson was working under difficult conditions and struggled to bring in the players that he really wanted, so his hands were tied - as are Rob Newman's this season.

"He's working on a very small budget and it must be the most frustrating job in the world, but the club is now pulling forward and hopefully finding its feet again. I don't expect the club to be promoted this season because I think it's just finding its feet in the Conference, but certainly in a year or two I would hope we'll be strong contenders."

Andy joined the club from Manchester United almost exactly eight years ago, initially on loan and then permanently in a £20,000 transfer, and his United career got off to a great start.

"It's such a contrast from when I first joined the club. In my first full season we got promoted, which was fantastic, but it's almost like it was too much, too early, and since then it's come all the way through to last season when we got relegated out of the Football League, which was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Obviously there were a number of factors in that, including the financial side, and so many things had built up that it eventually we found ourselves out of the Football League."

Andy was one of many players whose contracts were up for renewal at the end of last season and for a while it looked as though his future lay away from the club: "It was difficult for everyone concerned, whether your contract was up or you had this season to run, because no one knew what was going to happen.

"When you find out that the manager Steve Thompson is one of the first people to be let go by the administrators at the end of the season then you think anything can happen. So whether you had a contract or not didn't really seem to matter, because if the club wasn't going to come out of administration then it meant nothing.

"Nobody was secure in their position at the club, so it was just a matter of taking a step back and seeing what happened in the administration period. Luckily we pulled though that and the club was able to talk to players again."

On his own situation, he adds, "It was a very tough summer, believe me. I went away on holiday and I honestly didn't know what was going to happen. I spoke to my agent and he spoke to a couple of other clubs, but I didn't know what was going to happen with Cambridge United until very late on.

"Obviously the longer it goes on without hearing anything, the more you begin to think that your time at the club is over, but in the end we got back in contact and I came back to the club."

A lot of changes took place between the end of last season and this pre-season, with Rob Newman now caretaker manager after five months as Steve Thompson's number two and an almost completely new squad of players.

"It was strange coming back in pre-season," says Andy. "I've been here a long time but when I came back I hardly knew anybody and there were only a few faces I recognised - and two of those were Rob and Greg (physio Greg Reid)!

"I hardly knew any of the players so it was very strange, and there have been a lot of changes in the way the club is run day-to-day, but times have changed and we're in the Conference now working under a small budget, so the changes come with the territory and reflect what we can afford now. But the main thing is that Cambridge United is still operating."

Mark Peters had been brought in during pre-season as team captain, but on his return Andy was appointed club captain and he enjoys his off-field duties: "I like the responsibility of doing things around the club and it's good to work closely with the manager, along with Mark Peters who's the team captain. It's something I enjoy."

On the pitch, Andy and Mark have also established a strong partnership in defence and he adds, "I've enjoyed playing alongside Mark; he's quite a similar player to myself and he's got a few league games under his belt and had a decent career, and we're two of the older heads in a very young and inexperienced team.

"I think it's vital to get that right mix between youth and experience. We have a lot of young players here and when they're out on the pitch they do need a bit of guidance. There's not a lot the manager can do when we're on the pitch - he can say everything before the game but once we cross that white line we're on our own so it's important there's a few older heads out there to give them a bit of guidance.

"I think the young players have done well on the whole. We've had a decent run of late and everyone gets their hopes and expectations up high and we've got to try and carry it on, but we have to realise where we are.

"The experience in the side is minimal and some of the young players weren't in the side at all last season but now they're regulars in and around the starting eleven, so they have to learn really quickly because the club is relying on them every week now."

Having spent his career in the Football League, Andy has noticed a difference in standards in the Conference and he explains why he enjoyed the match at Macclesfield two weeks ago: "No disrespect to any of the teams in this league - there are a few decent teams in this league and some decent players - but there are games that are very different to games in the Football League.

"I enjoyed playing at Macclesfield in the LDV because there was a nice pitch and a few decent players on show and there was a lot of football played, so it was enjoyable to get back to that after the Saturday before when we were down at Dagenham where there wasn't much football played at all.

"But I think we're gradually getting to grips with the Conference and that's what this season will be all about for everyone at the football club; to find its feet and weigh up the opposition and see where we are at the end of the season. Hopefully next season or the season after we'll have sussed everything out and we'll be in a stronger position to push for promotion out of the Conference, but I think this season was always going to be about stabilising the ship."

In his eight years at the Abbey, Andy has played under such differing managers as Roy McFarland, John Beck, John Taylor, Herve Renard and Steve Thompson, and he now has great admiration for Rob Newman and Tony Spearing: "The more time you spend working with people the more you realise what difficult circumstances they're working under.

"There are staff shortages at the club so they're trying to run the team, trying to get players in, doing other bits and bobs around the club and they're under a lot of strain, and it's only when you work closely with them that you see the strain and the amount of pressure that they have.

"It's not just picking the team on a Saturday, there's a lot more involved than that and you have to respect them for the work they're doing. I've enjoyed working with them."

Asked about his own hopes for the future, Andy is understandably cautious: "I certainly hope to be around next season but I've wised up to football! Obviously things are difficult at the club and we'll have to see whether they can offer contracts that are suitable for the individual, so I certainly hope so but I'm not foolish enough to say 'yes I'll definitely be here'. We'll find out at the end of the season."

Ending with his thoughts on the second half of this season, 'Duncs' concludes, "I don't think there are any outstanding teams and everyone is beatable on the day when we perform as we can. But there have been times this season when we've performed well and I've thought if we can keep this up we'll be there or thereabouts, then a week later we've gone right back to square one.

"It must be so frustrating for the manager and the fans to watch such contrasting performances. I don't think we've hit any kind of consistency that we need if we're going to seriously push for promotion, but I wouldn't say that we're too far away from the play-offs if we get some consistency going and keep our performances up."

*This interview was first published in the programme for the match against Stevenage on 26th December, 2005.

Previous Featured Players:
15Mar06: David Bridges
01Feb06: David Chick
08Dec05: Michael Morrison
29Nov05: Ritchie Hanlon
25Oct05: Stephen Smith
05Oct05: Fola Onibuje
29Sep05: Mark Peters

Last season's Featured Players:
15May05: Your Players of the Year 2004/05
10May05: Tes Bramble
05May05: Tom Newey
30Apr05: Adam Tann
23Apr05: Iwan Roberts
10Apr05: Stuart Bimson
17Mar05: Matt Somner
09Mar05: Daniel Chillingworth
24Feb05: Dan Gleeson
17Feb05: Shane Tudor
14Feb05: Richard Hodgson
07Feb05: Warren Goodhind
22Dec04: Darren Quinton
06Dec04: Andy Duncan
24Nov04: John Ruddy
22Oct04: Kingsley Mbome
13Oct04: Jermaine Easter
17Sep04: Justin Walker
09Sep04: John Turner
26Aug04: Luke Guttridge

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