U's fan Chris Vessey talks to Russell Fraser, 23, a Rushden & Diamonds supporter living in London and working in finance.

CV - How have you found the start to the season?

Frustrating. With the signings we made in the summer I had expected a much better start. But we're heading in the right direction with this nice little unbeaten run we're hitting. The frustration comes from too many draws against sides we should be beating, the Stafford and Salisbury games in point. We have only won one home game so far and I think it's seriously affecting our attendances. It's only early in the season and there's a long way to go, but we need to start picking more points up at home. Hopefully we can push on for the play offs but I and others are not as confident as some.

CV - Rushden somewhat surprisingly sacked Graham Westley last season for Garry Hill, what on earth happened with that?

You know about as much as I do! The thing with our board is that they only tell us what they want us to know. I'd love to see how many managers have been sacked for taking a team from 22nd to 12th in a matter of weeks. It really was a strange decision, because Westley had completely turned around the way we were playing. We were very hard to beat and looked good going forward, which was completely the opposite from when he took over. When it happened the fans were furious, and all sorts of petitions were talked about, but none of that really came off. I think what helped Hill was a few wins in his first few weeks in charge, although they were with Westley's players.

CV - Garry Hill has blemished his tenure at Nene Park with the 'Salisbury incident', how did your fans react to that?

Quite divided. You have your biased supporters who cannot see anything bad against the club and you have the very critical who wanted him hung, drawn and quartered!

Personally I think what he did was very stupid and I'm sure he regrets it very much, especially now he's banned for the next fortnight.

I hope everyone can move on now and people have learnt lessons, but it will be interesting to see what happens during the return fixture.

I have to say though, it seemed a little odd Garry Hill apologised to everyone for what happened except Tommy Widdrington!

CV - Where do you see the Diamonds come May?

The optimist in me says play-offs, but if I'm being really honest we'll probably limp to a mid table finish. The top five or six look to be the ones who will be there come May, and there's already a sizeable gap opening up. If we don't make it, it will be a big disappointment because if you look at our squad and the calibre of players we should be there or thereabouts.

CV - What have been your best and worst memories since you have been in this division?

The first time or second?! Of course winning was the sweetest memory, and with Griggs behind the club we never thought for one minute we'd be back here. I suppose the best recent memory was last season's win at Tamworth, we won 4-1 and played some of the best football I'd seen for years. The worst memory for me was the first game game back in the Conference, when we lost to Crawley Town who we all believed would hardly have a squad out after their troubles, and some bookies had made us odds on favourites to win that game! It was mainly the harsh reminder of being back in the Conference that hurt most that day.

CV - Who are the players you feel could cause Cambridge United some serious problems on Tuesday?

Simeon Jackson. He has been a shining light for us in this division, and I'm quite surprised we've kept hold of him for so long. Burgess and Challinor can be good players on their day but they don't seem to be working too well together but hopefully they'll start gelling soon. Wayne Hatswell has been a super defender for us too.

CV - The standard of refereeing in the Blue Square Premier is firing debates more than ever - do you think it's getting as bad as people make out?

I suppose its swings and roundabouts. For every rubbish ref you get, you get a decent one. It's a hard job made harder by player dissent and the crowd howling at them for every decision. They get my sympathy most of the time, usually when its not affecting Rushden & Diamonds!

CV - What has been your opinion of Cambridge United since you joined us in Blue Square Premier?

Pretty good because we took six easy points from you last season! I've always enjoyed my trips to the Abbey, it's a characteristic ground although that stand is quite far from the action. I think the more we play each other over the next few years a genuine rivalry will develop as we're not too far away geographically.

CV - And finally... an important game for both teams on Tuesday - what's your prediction?

We're good away from home and we've already won once in front of the cameras at York, so I'm going for a 3-2 win.

Many thanks to Russell Fraser for giving his time to answer these questions.

Chris Vessey

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