Source: Northern_Echo
Mad Dog not about to change his ways
THERE was a time, a year or so ago, when Emanuel Pogatetz was going through a process of reinvention.[LNB] His tackling became marginally less aggressive, his approach to referees was increasingly deferential and he even stopped picking up his previously compulsory yellow cards.[LNB] You wouldn't have said it to his face, but it was possible to believe the Austrian hardman was turning soft.[LNB] Fast forward 12 months, and normal service has been resumed.[LNB] Back in the first team after more than six months out with a knee injury, it took Pogatetz less than 45 minutes of his return to stick his head where it hurts and fracture his cheekbone.[LNB] On his next appearance, with the aid of a protective mask, he had to be bandaged to prevent yet more blood from infecting his wound.[LNB] After a spell where his bark was arguably worse than his bite, it is safe to say that Mad Dog' is back.[LNB] I can't change the way I play, said Pogatetz, who will line up at left-back this afternoon as Boro's players travel to QPR looking to provide manager Gordon Strachan with his first victory.[LNB] Unfortunately, I hurt players and they hurt me that's just the way it is.[LNB] I enjoy the way I play the game, and I'm not going to change it. I like to give 100 per cent and, after the match, it's important you can look in the mirror and say that. Mind you, I didn't particularly enjoy looking in the mirror after the Plymouth game![LNB] That game marked Pogatetz's return after knee ligament surgery, and almost resulted in another prolonged spell on the sidelines.[LNB] The 26-year-old fractured his cheekbone in a collision with Pilgrims full-back David Gray, leading to fears that the injury was linked to a previous break he suffered against Basle in 2006.[LNB] Thankfully, it wasn't, and Pogatetz was back in action after a three-week break. But given his history of serious injuries, don't his friends and family urge him to be careful when it comes to laying his body on the line[LNB] I think the latest injury was horrible for my wife and mum and dad, he said. They were on the phone straight away seeing how I was doing.[LNB] I think they were worried that it was the same injury I suffered against Basle, but there is no point them telling me to change and they wouldn't do that.[LNB] Anyone who knows me, knows how I play. They know it is part of me, and they wouldn't waste their time telling me to be different.[LNB] Tackling and challenging is a strong part of my game, and if you took that out of me, I wouldn't be half the player.[LNB] I have to keep doing what I'm doing, and just put the injuries down to bad luck. Hopefully, that's the end of them.[LNB] The latest problem might not have been career-threatening, but the knee injury Pogatetz suffered in April certainly was.[LNB] With his ligaments severely damaged, the former Boro skipper was forced to undergo surgery and spent six months recuperating.[LNB] Understandably, there were times when he wondered if he would ever return to action, and some of the darkest days came at the start of this season when he was forced to abort a planned return in the reserves because of continued pain in his knee.[LNB] This was the first injury where I genuinely wondered if I would get back, he said. I'd had a knee injury before and came back OK, but this time it was much slower and there wwere a lot more ups and downs.[LNB] When I first went out to play for the reserves, it was really uncomfortable and that was hard. It was difficult because all I wanted to do was come in, train and play football, but suddenly I was hit with a period where I couldn't.[LNB] I'd make good progress, but then there'd be a couple of weeks when I'd make no progress at all or things would get worse.[LNB] It was especially difficult because, if football was not there, I wouldn't know what to do.[LNB] Thankfully, Pogatetz did not have to answer that question, and with Boro having tumbled down the Championship table following Gareth Southgate's dismissal, the Austrian could hardly be returning at a more opportune time.[LNB] He will add some muchneeded experience to a Boro squad that is overloaded with young players, and help shore up a defence that has kept just one clean sheet in the last seven games.[LNB] With QPR five places above Boro in the table, today's game at Loftus Road will offer a stiff test. But despite a run of five matches without a win, Pogatetz remains confident that promotion is still a realistic possibility.[LNB] We are definitely still capable of going up, he said.[LNB] It's very disappointing at the moment because the performances have been good, but we've made mistakes at either end of the pitch and they've cost us.[LNB] I don't really know what it is, but we haven't defended well enough and our concentration hasn't been good enough to see games out.[LNB] We have to work on that and be more ruthless at both ends of the field.[LNB]
