Berry: I'd have booed myself too!

Town midfielder Luke Berry was quick to shrug off the abuse he received at former club Cambridge on Saturday, admitting he would have probably booed himself too!
Luke Berry tackled by U's midfielder Gary Deegan on SaturdayLuke Berry tackled by U's midfielder Gary Deegan on Saturday
Luke Berry tackled by U's midfielder Gary Deegan on Saturday

The 25-year-old was making his first return to the Abbey Stadium since a move to Luton back in August.

He was taunted mercilessly throughout the game by supporters who had idolised him last term, when he swept the board at the U’s end of season awards ceremony.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The treatment came as no shock to Berry though, as he said: “I didn’t expect anything else, I just took it in my stride and was just disappointed to not get the win.

“I’ve been here since I was a kid, it’s just one of those things, I don’t expect anything different.

“If I was a Cambridge fan I’d probably boo me, so it’s just the way it is.

“I know how it is, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. They’re going to boo me, if they want to boo me they boo me, it’s not going to bother me.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I didn’t think they were going to do anything different, but they were singing about me more than their players, so I don’t know what that says.”

Boss Nathan Jones felt that the United fans had short memories of just what a servant Berry had been for the club, scoring over 50 goals and playing almost 250 games during his two spells with the U’s.

He said: “It’s expected, but I just think they forget how good a player he was for them.

“I thought he handled it fantastically well in terms of his pressing, he was excellent and you know the type of player he is.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He’s been brilliant for us and he had a good temperament about him.

“It’s a shame really because he did so well for this football club and that’s why some players move on, because loyalty is usually one sided.”

Although every touch by Berry was met with jeers from the home supporters, he produced a sterling display throughout and felt the reception he got actually spurred him on.

He said: “When I came out for the warm up I heard it and then you’re in the game, you don’t really think about things like that. It got me going really and didn’t disappoint me at all.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s one of those things, if you hide out there it’s not the way to be.

“You’ve got to put your chest out and try and get the three points. It’s what we really tried to do, so it’s disappointing we didn’t do it.”

Although the game had been under threat from the ‘Beast from the East’ which decimated the football programme up and down the country, Berry didn’t think it had affected Town’s preparation for the fixture in any way.

He added: “We trained like normal, we were out in the snow, obviously it was a bit chilly, but we did everything right.

“We did all the tactics, literally the same thing for every game, but that’s the facilities we’ve got at the training ground, that’s really good.”