When Lyndon Dykes takes his seat in front of Tribalfootball.com, he looks as healthy as the last time, we sat across him. The QPR striker has had a serious health scare since we last spoke, though, where he ended up admitted to hospital with pneumonia.
“You never expect to go from playing football to going to the hospital. But I came back much quicker than everyone thought," he says now of the ordeal which gave him seven days in intensive care. Luckily, he returned to sign a new three-year contract with “The Hoops".
“I had a chat with the club about their future goals and what they're aiming to do as a club and where they want to be aligned with what I want to do. I want to keep improving, but I also want to achieve the highest I can. And I think that's where this club's going to go.
“Obviously, this season has not been what everyone wanted. We knew it was going to be a tough season but we still wouldn't have thought we would be where we are now," Dykes says of a season in which he's also disappointed in himself.
"It's been a hard season for me. I'm disappointed in a lot of aspects, but it's been a strange season in itself. I've played a lot of positions this year, but that comes with football and I'm happy to do it for any manager, but I think it is a factor.
“As a team we haven't been playing the best football we could. That's affected me individually and obviously, I'm a little bit disappointed with that. That's football, but it's how you come back, so, I just keep working hard to get back up to that top performance," says Dykes of a season which has so far brought four league goals in three matches.
Three is also the number of managers Dykes saw arriving at Loftus Road inside only 10 months and while never optimal, Dykes tries to learn from each.
“You learn different things from each manager. Everyone's different, they all have different styles of play and all have different ideas. So, I definitely think I'm growing as a player. I think my all-round game is very good, and I think I can adapt to what people want."
Having looked down for the count, Dykes and his fellow players seemed to adapt fairly quickly to the style of manager Marti Cifuentes, when the Spaniard arrived in October from Swedish side Hammarby.
“I think the team realised the position we were in. Obviously, none of us want to be there and we're all focused on improving that. He (Cifuentes) has his style of play and he's very firm on what he wants. The boys have been performing when we've needed it, but there's still a long way to go," Dykes readily admits, although the atmosphere has no doubt improved after climbing above the relegation-zone for the first time in months.
A couple of new signings in the January transfer window have helped make a difference, among them Isaac Hayden, who seems to have been just what the doctor ordered as he's been a great signing for QPR, according to Dykes.
“Obviously, he's coming from Newcastle, which is a big club and he has played big games. I think it was the kind of top player that we probably needed to come in with a little bit of experience and game knowledge. He's a great lad as well and gets on with everyone and everyone gets on with him."
While focused on keeping QPR in the Championship, Dykes also has one eye of the Euros this summer. He played an integral part in Scotland qualifying and naturally wants to be part of the squad going to Germany.
“You want to play in major tournaments, it's a massive thing in your career. It's a long way away so I just want to try and keep my head focused, make sure I'm staying fit, do the best I can for QPR and hopefully I'm on the plane with Scotland," says Dykes who is part of Steve Clarke's squad for the two March friendlies.
So are John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson. A pretty decent midfield?
“Yeah, all great Premier League players. I could name the whole squad and every player's an outstanding talent. The standard is very high and we've showed that over this whole campaign".
In June, Dykes and his fellow Scotsmen want to show it Germany. In the meantime, he stays focused on keeping “The Hoops" in the Championship.
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