Ryan's revolution

Young defender Ryan Fredericks is enjoying his loan spell at Middlesbrough this season – enhancing his talents both on and off the pitch.

The 22-year-old Londoner is plying his trade away from the capital for the first time in his career, having spent his early years coming through our Academy and had previous loan stints at London clubs Brentford and Millwall.

But Ryan is relishing his time in the North East, featuring in a Middlesbrough side which has enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2014-15 campaign so far, while also getting to grips with living on his own away from home and turning his hand at some culinary delights in the kitchen!

Making his debut at the Riverside in late September in a 4-0 win over Brentford, full-back Ryan has played 11 times now under manager Aitor Karanka, as Boro have stormed up the Championship table. They sat fourth, just two points behind leaders Derby County prior to last weekend’s fixtures and, although currently sidelined through injury, Ryan has certainly played his part, including an appearance in Boro’s third round Capital One Cup tie at Anfield, as they pushed Liverpool all the way only to lose on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

“I’m really enjoying it and playing games, which is the important thing,” confirmed Hammersmith-born Ryan. “We’re playing a good style of football as well and that has made it easier to adapt.

“We opened a few people’s eyes with the performance against Liverpool, people started looking out for us after that. We’ve played well since then, picked up good results and, after a couple of draws recently, notched up a great win at Millwall (5-1).

“It’s tight at the top of the table and there are some good teams up there. We’ll keep fighting though and hopefully we’ll be there at the end of the season.”

Away from the football, Ryan has had to adapt his lifestyle as he gets used to living alone a long way from home. But he’s making the most of the opportunity and is certainly not missing London traffic.

“The area is lovely, I’m living in a place called Yarm, about 20 minutes from Middlesbrough and it’s completely different from London,” he added. “It’s a quiet village with a couple of nice restaurants and there’s no traffic! It’s a big change for me.

“Some of the lads are local to me as well, so that’s fine. It certainly makes you grow up as a person. I’m doing a bit in the kitchen now, turning into a bit of a chef. My speciality is barbecue chicken and a few of the lads have been around to sample it!”