ONE OF the main criticisms levelled at footballers is how unattached they appear to be with reality, but that doesn t seem to be the case for Yoann Folly.

by MIKE SIMMONDS

ONE OF the main criticisms levelled at footballers is how unattached they appear to be with reality, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Yoann Folly.

With his contract at parent club Plymouth Argyle up at the end of the season, and the midfielder not in manager Paul Mariner's plans, the easy option would have been to stay at Home Park and collect his wages.

While some players might have gone down that route, that was never going to be the case according to the Frenchman.

Backside

"At the end of the day, at some point you have to decide whether you want to sit on your backside and get your money or do you really like football," he said.

"I just like football and just want to play, so when I heard they (Daggers) were interested I was happy to come."

"The opportunity came a couple of days ago and straight away I said 'yes'.

"I've heard a lot of good things about this football club, so it was a no-brainer for me to come down and get as much football as I can.

"I've heard that the manager likes to get young players and promote them, making them into good players.

"I think that's great, a great idea rather than buy big players."

Folly became the 30th player used by manager John Still this season on the weekend when he made his debut as a second-half substitute during Saturday's 2-0 win over Grimsby Town.

Before joining Daggers, Folly had made all of his 92 Football League appearances in either the Premier League or Championship, so he must have found it quite a culture shock sitting on the bench at Victoria Road.

"It was a bit more direct, a bit more battling football, but at the end of the day, football is football, so it's great to be here," he said.

"It was good to get some minutes on the pitch.

"It had been a tricky game, but we came out in the second half and I think the way the team were playing, there was only one team who was going to get the three points.

"We needed to get the first goal and everyone gets confidence from that.

"Afterwards, it's a case of doing what they do week-in-week-out."

A regular spell of first-team football with Daggers could well bring the 24-year-old back from the international wilderness too.

He made 10 appearances for the French under-21s earlier in his career, before representing Togo in an international against DR Congo in August 2008.

As it was just a friendly match, Folly is still eligible for either Togo or France again, although it is not at the top of his immediate agenda.

"I played for Togo a few years ago and haven't been back in since," he said.

"I can still play for France too and it would be nice, but at the moment, I just want to concentrate on getting a contract."

Where that new deal will be remains to be seen, but with his long-term future not likely to be at Home Park, would he consider a permanent move to Victoria Road?

"I haven't taken the smile off my face since I've been here and I'm really enjoying my time at the football club, so why not? I have to play well here and then after that we'll see," said the midfielder, who made no secret in wanting to set up base in London.

"Here is more Paris than Plymouth and I did want to move closer to here.

"It was good to see a friendly face in Damien (McCrory), but I've been really welcomed by the rest of the squad as well."

Season

Although Folly has spent under a week with his new team-mates, and manager John Still, he feels they have what it takes to be playing at a higher level this time next season.

"I can't see why not," he said.

"The training sessions have been good and there is a lot of quality in the squad.

"What I like about the manager too is that he knows what he wants, he knows how he wants his team to play.

"Everyone is working towards it (promotion) and I can see them going up.

"I think they're good enough and they have got the players to play in League One."

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