It’s been a whirlwind three months for midfielder Graham Dorrans who has traded his life in the cold chills of the United Kingdom with the dry heat of Western Sydney.
It’s been a whirlwind three months for midfielder Graham Dorrans who has traded his life in the cold chills of the United Kingdom with the dry heat of Western Sydney.
From adjusting to a new club and a new lifestyle, Dorrans has been the ultimate professional which is expected from someone who has over 400 professional games for his club and country.
From West Brom to Norwich to Rangers, Dorrans has spent his career battling it out in one of the toughest leagues in the world and has brought with him some very valuable experience to the Wanderers squad.
Having now found his feet, the hard-working midfielder has adjusted well to life in Australia.
“It’s been great, we’ve now settled in here and have been down here a month or so,” said Dorrans.
“The boys have been great and the missus has arrived as well.
“It’s been great, training’s been good and the whole lifestyle of the place has been great and a lot of training so it was tough for myself after six to seven weeks without it.
“Then coming here, I had ten days or so before the first game.”
Dorrans is part of a new guard of Wanderers that head coach Carl Robinson has brought in to transform the club from both a performance and mentality perspective.
It has been a case of being thrown into the deep-end for Dorrans who has quickly caught up to the rest of the team after missing most of the pre-season preparations.
“Everyone wants to play in games but you need to be up to speed,” said Dorrans.
“I now feel like I’m getting there after four games and the training sessions we’ve had.
“I now feel good, I now feel physically in a good place.
“I think you’ve seen that in the last couple of games that I’ve lasted both 90 minutes so it’s been good.”
Speak to any Wanderers player this season and there’s one specific thing that they all mention – they want to bring success back to the club.
It’s a message that is echoed from the changeroom to the pitch and something Dorrans firmly believes in.
“I came out here to be successful and the club wants to get back to success as well,” said Dorrans.
“The gaffer’s built a new team and there’s new players coming in.
“It’s a new staff so this club’s building something and I’m delighted to be part of it.
“I think the start we’ve had to the season, we’ve done ok so far and we can be better, but we’re sitting nicely on the table.
“We’ve got another big game coming up on Friday night and I know the boys want to bring success back to this football club.”
The Red & Black under Carl Robinson and his midfield sergeant Dorrans have had a positive start to the season, sitting at the top end of the table after two wins, a draw and a loss.
Tonight, they will play Newcastle Jets for the second time this season but this time on home territory.
The Wanderers last meeting with the side was a heated and spicy affair with Dorrans knowing exactly what to expect from the fixture.
“It’ll be a very tough game against Newcastle, I’ve watched most their games this season and they’ll be disappointed,” said Dorrans.
“Obviously they got their first points in last round’s match but they’ll be disappointed because a few of the games I’ve watched, they’ve been the better side.
“It’ll be a super tough game and obviously we’ve played them a couple weeks ago, so we know what to expect and we’ll be ready for it.”
With Dorrans getting up to speed with the squad at the right time, you can expect the Scottish International to be dominating the midfield and leading the Wanderers charge to three points in what is expected to be another tightly-contested fixture.
