By Tim Hodges
Inigo Calderon told Brighton and Hove News how he enjoys captaining the Albion in Gordon Greer’s absence.
He said that he finds he has to talk more to the referee when he skippers the Albion but he is not too disappointed when he is not selected to lead the team out.
Calderon also suggested to Brighton and Hove News that he would be happy to take a penalty if asked but he was not sure that it would be his assigned role. Later Gus Poyet told me that he would like to see Calderon take a spot-kick.
The Spanish defender discussed his defensive versatility and even suggested that he might like to get further up the pitch as he did in a recent development squad game.
Calderon has featured at left back, right back and centre half in his time at the Albion. He said that he did not really mind where he played and even considered himself a forward player.
The former Alaves man made it clear that he understood the intensity of the rivalry between Albion and Crystal Palace though it didn’t quite hit home to him until the aftermath of the 3-1 defeat to the Eagles last September.
He added how he noticed how quiet the Amex was after that match and how devastated some Albion fans were with the result, going on to say that he hopes to give them a good Sunday and that perhaps they can celebrate with a nice roast afterward.
Calderon is also looking forward to playing in front of an estimated 28,500 crowd although he suggested that when he is on the pitch he wouldn’t notice whether there were 15,000 or 28,000 in the stadium. But the players were obviously spurred on by the vocal support and atmosphere that the Amex generates.
He ended by saying that the players need no kind of extra motivation for the St Patrick’s Day match and he considered it the most important game of the season so far.
