Media Day with Daniel Royer

February 27, 2020 MetroFanatic: Danny, you have 46 goals in all competitions, six away from Thierry Henry. When you came here back then, did you feel like you will leave a mark on the team?

Daniel Royer: No, I obviously didn't think of that. When I came here, I knew that Bradley was the real goalscorer, with his numbers. But I never checked out the numbers after him. I've heard it now, once or twice, the stats with Thierry. That's obviously not something I'm focused on. It's always about the team and how successful we are. MF: It's also not expected, because you're not a striker. This year, you could potentially be playing more forward than wing?

DR: We'll see. We don't really know what that will look like. We'll see on the weekend, the closer we get to the game. But I think Chris knows that I'm an offensive player and can give him the option to play on the wing or as a striker. MF: When you first signed here, did you think it was gonna be a long-term thing?

DR: You never know. When I came here, I signed for one and a half years. Then I re-signed in 2017. From that point on, when I re-signed, I was really thinking that this can be a long-term thing for me. It turned out to be the right decision. MF: This team had very few changes in the offseason. Is that a good or a bad thing?

DR: Nah, it is what it is. Sometimes there's lots of changes, sometimes not a lot. But I think we had a very good preseason with all the players that we have, everybody showed up. We've got some good results, it doesn't really matter if there're lots of changes. MF: The team was average a year ago, made the playoffs and lost. Has the team improved?

DR: It's always hard to tell in preseason how the season will look like. All I can say is that we had a very good preseason, good results, everybody showed up, we had the right mentality. I think we grew from the start of preseason til now. We've improved, we've made progress. We're more on the same page. That's a really good sign. We're confident, and as the season goes on, we can see where we're at. MF: Prediction for goalscoring this year?

DR: No. MF: No numbers?

DR: No numbers. MF: Well, I hope you beat Thierry's record.

DR: (laughs) MF: Back in 2007, we made a huge deal when Clint Mathis broke the all-time record, which was 45. And you have 46 already...

DR: Yeah, but it's not even close to Bradley! (laughs) MF: You might have to retire here to get to that!

DR: It's amazing what he's done for the club, Bradley. An amazing striker, and an amazing human being. I'm really happy for what he has done here, but now we all have to step up and be able to score.