Chris Rigg interview: One defender asked if I was still being breastfed
'I'm a first-team regular at 17 and I've progressed so much,' he adds. 'I always had the confidence and the ability, but it was very naive. I've still got a hell of a lot to learn. I played a lot at the back end of last season and made mistakes. I've got better and the manager [Régis Le Bris] has put his trust in me.
'I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me, especially if I'm going to get where I want to be. I want to get to the very top. I've not achieved anything in the game. The first thing is to try and get promoted. If we can win the play-offs, yeah I can say I've achieved something. I want to play for my country, I want to win things. I want to play in the Premier League for Sunderland, that has always been the dream.'
There is, however, an elephant in the room. Given where he is from, there have always been questions about Rigg's background. In short, is he a Newcastle fan playing for their biggest rivals?
It is not a question Rigg has answered publicly before. Initially, he is reluctant to do so, knowing the potential risks attached. After a moment's reflection, he decides it is time to tackle it.
'I think my dad's a secret Mackem now'
'The best decision I made was coming to Sunderland,' he replies. 'For them to put me in the team at 15, I don't think many would take that risk. It's been so important for me. I could have signed for Premier League clubs and not played anywhere near the number of games.
'If you look at the England squad, virtually all of them have played in the EFL at some point, whether that was on loan or starting their career in the lower leagues. It's sped up my progress undoubtedly.
'Sunderland are my club, I've been here my whole life. I come from a family of Newcastle fans, there is no point hiding that, but it changes when you play for Sunderland in front of those fans.
'My family being Newcastle fans has no impact on me, it doesn't change the way I feel about Sunderland. The fans have been unbelievable. They could have thought, 'Nah, he's a Newcastle fan' or whatever, but I think I've shown what this club means to me. It's not really a debate.
'My dad gives me a little bit of stick, but he comes to all Sunderland's games. I think he is a secret Mackem now. He puts his son above everything, he loves watching me and he absolutely loves coming to our games.'
How long Rigg will stay at Sunderland remains to be seen. He has already been linked with moves to Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur, and, yes, Newcastle too.
'I don't listen to any of the speculation,' he replies. 'I've got far more important things to worry about, like trying to get Sunderland promoted.'
If Sunderland can win promotion there are no doubts he will stay, but his ambition is obvious and he points to the pathway led by another former Sunderland youngster Jordan Henderson.
'If you look at the career he has had, Jordan has captained Liverpool, he's won the Premier League, the Champions League.
'He has played for England at the World Cup and the Euros. I'd love all those things. He has shown what is possible for someone who starts at Sunderland and he's definitely a role model for me. I've never spoken to him, but I would love to.
'Then you have Jordan Pickford, too, lots of players have started at Sunderland and gone on to have amazing careers. They are an example for me to follow, just as I hope I can be a role model to the kids who are coming through the academy now.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Gareca steps down as Chile coach after failure to qualify for World Cup
SANTIAGO, Jun 10 (Reuters) - Ricardo Gareca confirmed he has stepped down as Chile head coach after their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup ended with a 2-0 away loss to Bolivia on Tuesday. "We made a decision, with the coaching staff (...) with the entire delegation. We told them that we want to ease the situation," said Gareca during a brief press conference after the match in El Alto, where he did not take questions. "The results never went with us, at any time. We did not produce results, Chile is in a situation that no one would have wished for." The defeat left Chile bottom of the South American table with only 10 points and two games remaining in the qualifying round. "La Roja" will miss out on the World Cup for the third time in a row, after failing to qualify for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 following a historic era that saw them win the Copa America in 2015 and 2016. Under Argentine manager Gareca, who was appointed in 2024, Chile only managed one win in 13 official games.
Leader Live
40 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Thomas Tuchel won't panic after England suffer shock loss to Senegal
Among the favourites for glory in North America, the Euro 2024 runners-up received a wake-up call as the German head coach's honeymoon period came to a crashing end at the City Ground. England were booed off for the second time in four days as Saturday's stultifying 1-0 qualification win against minnows Andorra was followed by a first ever loss to African opposition on Tuesday evening. Harry Kane's early goal was cancelled out when Ismaila Sarr capitalised on poor defending in Nottingham, where Habib Diarra gave Senegal a deserved lead that substitute Jude Bellingham looked to have cancelled out late on. But the equaliser was ruled out as Levi Colwill was adjudged to have handled in the build-up and second-half introduction Cheikh Sabaly added gloss just one year and a day until the World Cup gets under way. Asked if they key message now is not to panic, England head coach Tuchel said: 'Yes, 100 per cent. We lost a test (friendly) match so there is no need to panic. 'We have (played) three qualification games, we have nine points and not conceded. We will be competitive in September, and we will go for two more victories – 100 per cent we will. 'We know more now, we are smarter. It's tough at the moment. I am the first one to dislike and hate losses like nothing else. 'But it's not next week. We don't go next week to the World Cup, we go in one year. 'I think by nature it will get more competitive in the nomination process and in the demands for the players to be nominated and to be with us in September, October and November because of the density, because we enter then a World Cup season. 'I think this comes by nature and from there we go.' England's performances this month have provided more questions than answers, including whether the weight of the shirt – something predecessor Gareth Southgate tried so hard to remove – was becoming an issue again. 'Not so sure what it means, this 'weight of the shirt',' Tuchel said. 'Expectations come naturally with results and the success that Gareth had with the group and with England. 'I think it was regular in quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals. It comes with it. 'You feel how opponents approach matches against us, what it means to beat us and to compete with us. I heard it because my changing room was next to the dressing room of Senegal. 'I just asked myself 'would we have celebrated in the same manner?' And I ask myself 'would I have been the first in the dressing room screaming and knocking my fist on some boxes?' 'Would the players then have joined or just said 'what's wrong with the gaffer? It is just a friendly match, he needs to calm down'. 'OK, I exaggerate a little bit but I include myself. I don't think my players would be so happy and so excited about it, and not because they are not, but maybe because they demand it from themselves. 'Maybe the latest history brings with it that they think everything is normal – we need to win, we need to win in style and we need to win comfortably, we need to beat everyone and it needs to look easy, we need to be exciting and everything mixed together feels a little bit like it holds us down because I see the smile, I see the liveliness in training. 'I tell you pretty much all the time that I am excited by what I see and I have a strong belief in what we can do. But we miss at the moment the translation to the pitch.'
Rhyl Journal
41 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Thomas Tuchel won't panic after England suffer shock loss to Senegal
Among the favourites for glory in North America, the Euro 2024 runners-up received a wake-up call as the German head coach's honeymoon period came to a crashing end at the City Ground. England were booed off for the second time in four days as Saturday's stultifying 1-0 qualification win against minnows Andorra was followed by a first ever loss to African opposition on Tuesday evening. Harry Kane's early goal was cancelled out when Ismaila Sarr capitalised on poor defending in Nottingham, where Habib Diarra gave Senegal a deserved lead that substitute Jude Bellingham looked to have cancelled out late on. But the equaliser was ruled out as Levi Colwill was adjudged to have handled in the build-up and second-half introduction Cheikh Sabaly added gloss just one year and a day until the World Cup gets under way. Asked if they key message now is not to panic, England head coach Tuchel said: 'Yes, 100 per cent. We lost a test (friendly) match so there is no need to panic. 'We have (played) three qualification games, we have nine points and not conceded. We will be competitive in September, and we will go for two more victories – 100 per cent we will. 'We know more now, we are smarter. It's tough at the moment. I am the first one to dislike and hate losses like nothing else. 'But it's not next week. We don't go next week to the World Cup, we go in one year. 'I think by nature it will get more competitive in the nomination process and in the demands for the players to be nominated and to be with us in September, October and November because of the density, because we enter then a World Cup season. 'I think this comes by nature and from there we go.' England's performances this month have provided more questions than answers, including whether the weight of the shirt – something predecessor Gareth Southgate tried so hard to remove – was becoming an issue again. 'Not so sure what it means, this 'weight of the shirt',' Tuchel said. 'Expectations come naturally with results and the success that Gareth had with the group and with England. 'I think it was regular in quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals. It comes with it. 'You feel how opponents approach matches against us, what it means to beat us and to compete with us. I heard it because my changing room was next to the dressing room of Senegal. 'I just asked myself 'would we have celebrated in the same manner?' And I ask myself 'would I have been the first in the dressing room screaming and knocking my fist on some boxes?' 'Would the players then have joined or just said 'what's wrong with the gaffer? It is just a friendly match, he needs to calm down'. 'OK, I exaggerate a little bit but I include myself. I don't think my players would be so happy and so excited about it, and not because they are not, but maybe because they demand it from themselves. 'Maybe the latest history brings with it that they think everything is normal – we need to win, we need to win in style and we need to win comfortably, we need to beat everyone and it needs to look easy, we need to be exciting and everything mixed together feels a little bit like it holds us down because I see the smile, I see the liveliness in training. 'I tell you pretty much all the time that I am excited by what I see and I have a strong belief in what we can do. But we miss at the moment the translation to the pitch.'
