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Scott Griffiths: first spotted playing 'beach' soccer
IT'S taken Scott Griffiths 10 years to progress from 'beach' football to the second tier of English football, but the left-back is confident he will take his latest step up in standard in his stride.
IT'S taken Scott Griffiths 10 years to progress from 'beach' football to the second tier of English football, but the left-back is confident he will take his latest step up in standard in his stride.Southend United first spotted Griffiths' potential when he was a 13 year-old playing for Essex-based junior club Beach United. From there he moved to Grays Athletic and then on to Dagenham & Redbridge, for whom he played more than 200 matches under former Posh boss John Still before switching to London Road last week.
Griffiths has a reputation as an attacking full-back with a quality left foot. He believes those strengths will soon be in evidence in the Championship.
Griffiths, who made his Posh debut in Wednesday's reserve team friendly at Histon, has signed on loan initially with a view to signing a three-and-a-half year permanent deal on January 22.
Griffiths said: "The last week has been a bit of a blur. I have had a great time at Dagenham and I was very happy there when I was told of Posh's interest last Thursday morning.
"I had been called into see John Still, but I had no idea what it was about. I'd heard clubs had been tracking me, but it was still a shock when I was told I could travel to Peterborough that day for talks.
"I made the trip and then signed the next day. I now can't wait to get started in the first team.
"I watched the win against Scunthorpe and to be honest the standard skill-wise didn't look a lot different to what I've been used to.
"It looked more physical and faster though, but I am confident that I could cope. Certainly the thought of playing on the same side of the pitch as George Boyd (below) is exciting.
"He looks like a player I could get on really well with. I like to get forward at every opportunity and I'm sure George would appreciate the support."
Griffiths' departure from Dagenham wasn't exactly conducted on the best of terms. Still decided to cash in on a defender who would have been out of contract at the end of the season after a meeting with the player and his agent.
Still said: "The agent made it clear that Scott would not be signing a new contract with the club. He also made it perfectly clear to me that Scott has been at the club too long and that he wanted to leave.
"We, as a club, were left in the position that we had a player with us who didn't want to be here and wouldn't be signing a new contract at the end of the season.
"We therefore acted in the best interests of the club after the intervention of the agent who had refused the club any chance to have any further talks with the player over his future."
Griffiths preferred to recall the good times at Victoria Road. He insists he enjoyed playing under Still, particularly last season when Dagenham came within one match of the League Two play-offs.
Griffiths added: "John is a top bloke and a great manager who has worked wonders on no budget at Dagenham. We came very close to the play-offs last season, but we lost the crunch match at home to Shrewsbury on the final day of the season.
"I played in agony that day because I had a rib injury, but I didn't want to miss the big game. It was a crushing disappointment, but it was still a good season and I hope they go up this season.
“We have already beaten Shrewsbury 5-0 and I scored so we had a little bit of revenge.”
Posh have agreed an undisclosed fee for Griffiths.
n IF you want to see Scott Griffiths’ ball-juggling skills go to http://vimeo.com/7277260.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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