Quote: Chris71 "Agree, for me he was one of the very few positives from last season and who really committed to the club with moving to Hull. Given the lack of conditioning and prep of players under Smith tenure I thought Ashworth displayed more than enough to show what he's capable of working and guided under a decent Coach. Think Ashworth will go very well for us next season along with Ligi.'"
Agree as well. Thought Ashworth started last season positively with energy and enthusiasm, eager to play his part in the team. But as soon as he picked up that first injury setback early into the season he found it difficult to regain his momentum once more. don't think he was fully fit even when returning, he seemed to be dogged a little by niggly injuries which hopefully won't strike next year.
Think it's also worth pointing out that by the time he returned to action after his first lay-off, the wheels had started to come off the club big-time. To describe the team as 'struggling' is obviously an understatement! It's hard enough when players are trying to find their rhythm again after a lay-off half-way through a season, but to have to do so in a side which was rapidly falling apart makes the task doubly difficult.
The whole atmosphere around the place from around April onwards was hardly conducive to positive thinking. Like I said, trying to pick up the thread again can't have been easy for any of the injured players throughout last year. The whole air of despondency enveloping the club simply became enervating for all after a while (owner, coaches, players, supporters). It's far easy to slot back into a winning side than one going backwards at an ever increasing rate of knots, as we undoubtedly were by that time.
Hoping that Ashworth will be one of the players who will benefit from the new broom attitude sweeping through the club in recent weeks. Given an injury free run, I think he can make a big contribution over the next two/three years in putting the club back on an upwards direction. He gives the impression of being prepared to 'put a shift in', which I think is what we, as fans, are really looking for from everyone in 2025.
Fingers crossed, Ashworth gets to play a full part in the revival next year.
