Ben Davies: “This is a massive opportunity - it’s still in our hands”

Ben Davies is taking inspiration from the last time we had a sticky spell in the Premier League as we prepare to take on Leicester City at home on Sunday (2pm).

That was back in February, when three losses in four, including back-to-back home defeats to Southampton and Wolves, left us eighth in the table, seven points adrift of fourth place.

We responded with six wins in seven to haul us back into the race for Champions League qualification only to then be rocked by a late home loss against Brighton before fighting for a hard-earned point at Brentford last weekend.

“The last time we had a couple of bad results we went on a great run, hopefully we can do that again,” stated the experienced defender, now up to 266 appearances for us, and part of a back three that has started together now for 12 games on the trot.

“Every time you go on a good run, teams will always change their tactics to make it difficult for you. That will happen. Now, it’s about how we deal with it and how we respond. We’re well aware that the last couple of results needed to be better and we’re focussed on putting it right.

“We know the importance of it, and we’re well aware of what needs to be done. It’s in our hands. We’ve big games coming up, matches where we know we need results. We have to go into them full of confidence. If you’d have given us this position six months ago, we’d have bitten your hand off, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The mention of Sunday’s opponents will take us all back to the KP Stadium in January when, trailing 2-1 deep into added time, Steven Bergwijn scored after 95 and 97 minutes to secure a remarkable turnaround win.

“The away game was pretty crazy, one of the most surreal I’ve been involved in,” reflected the Welsh international. “We did okay in the game, felt solid but ended up conceding two sloppy goals, and that bit of magic at the end from Stevie was well-needed. It was a huge result in the context of our season, and it really gave us the belief to kick on.”

With five matches remaining, Ben reiterated that destiny is in our hands. “It’s a massive opportunity. We’ve put ourselves in a great spot, really. It’s still in our hands and if we can get on a good run until the end of the season then we’re confident we’ll able to get there.”