Dallas looking to slay Dragons...

Solihull Moors striker Andrew Dallas aims to show former team-mate Paul Mullin that the apprentice is on his way to becoming the master this Christmas.  

Only Notts County's Macauley Longstaff (21 goals and five assists) and Wrexham hotshot Mullin (14G, 6A) have been involved in more National League goals this season than Dallas (9G, 9A), who has supplied more assists than any player in the division this term.

Mullin was a mentor of sorts to Dallas during the latter's stint with Cambridge United between 2019 and 2021, but the former team-mates will face off against one another in a National League double-header over the festive period.

Neil Ardley's seventh-placed Moors travel to The Racehorse Ground on Boxing Day to do battle with the second-placed Dragons - who are famously owned by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - in a fixture that will be streamed live and worldwide on new subscription service National League TV.

On New Year's Day, Solihull then host Wrexham in the reverse fixture and Dallas can't wait to "have a right good go" at denting the Welshmen's promotion hopes. 

We spent an enjoyable half an hour chatting with the 23-year-old ahead of the holidays, our discussion touching upon Solihull's play-off heartbreak last season, Dallas' impressive assist stats and how his Boxing Day adversary helped him fight through tough times earlier in his career. 

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AD: Whenever you get the fixtures, you always look out for big games and we’ve been looking forward to these two matches all season. 

Last season we went to Wrexham and put on a decent show (a 1-1 draw back in April). The stadium was packed and the TV cameras were there, so we got the full works. 

These are the games you want to play in, with thousands watching. It’ll be a wee bit hostile, but that’s when you see what you’re made of. 

Playmaker: Were there any takeaways from your previous games v Wrexham that will stand you in good stead for the forthcoming double-header?

AD: For the likes of Wrexham, Chesterfield and Notts County, the big away days, we’ve learned that there’s no point being in your shell, you’ve got to have a right good go at them. 

Remember, we went further than Wrexham in the play-offs last season and there’s no reason why we can’t go and get a result. 

Playmaker: Wrexham’s Hollywood owners have really put them on the map and raised their profile and that of the National League as a whole - how positive has that exposure been in your eyes?

AD: It’s been massive. The Disney+ documentary ('Welcome to Wrexham') has really taken off and there have been lots of people reaching out to me from Scotland on the back of it asking when I’m playing Wrexham and stuff. 

I've been in this league for about 2 years and I feel like it’s getting bigger and bigger. The National League TV subscription channel is now also starting. 

It's the way it should be because there are a lot of good teams and players flying under the radar in this league. It's definitely going in the right direction.  

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Playmaker: Against Wrexham, you’ll pit your goal-scoring wits against those of your former team-mate Paul Mullen, their star striker…

AD: I obviously know Paul well from my time at Cambridge and he actually helped me when I was at quite a low point. 

He was scoring all the goals there and I was on the bench watching him score them; I wasn’t getting played. 

He could see I was working away and told me that what goes around, comes around. He kept me going and helped me, so I’ve got a lot of time for him. 

Playmaker: What tips did you take from playing alongside Mullen and watching him up close?

AD: Off the pitch he obviously helped me, but on it he makes sure that he gets his shots off and he has an edge to him that good strikers need. 

I’ve played with a few strikers now and have tried to take bits and pieces from all of them, the likes of Adam Rooney and even going back to Kyle Lafferty and (Alfredo) Morelos at Rangers. 

They all have a similar ruthless streak: an “I’m going to shoot, I’m going to score” mentality that I’ve tried to put into my game. 

Obviously no one likes getting moaned at when they miss, but you have to be that guy!

Playmaker: You obviously came so close to going up last season, losing the play-off final to Grimsby, how painful an experience was it and did it influence you mentally ahead of this season?

AD: It was a bitterly tough pill to swallow, I can’t lie to you. 

We had a good season, and I scored 23 goals and had 10 or so assists, but you almost feel like it was all for nothing when you go that close and it’s ripped away from you at the end. Football can be a cruel game and a harsh industry. 

It adds another layer of skin onto you and makes you determined that next time when the chance comes around, you’re not going to let anyone else take it. 

As a striker, it makes you want to be even more ruthless. 

Playmaker: Do you think Solihull carried something of a hangover into this season after the play-off heartbreak?

AD: In hindsight, yes, but I didn’t think so at the time. 

It’s bound to have an effect on you when you go that close and we only had three weeks off before this season so there wasn’t that mental recovery you need over the summer to get away and not think about football. You blink and before you know it you’re back in pre-season. 

I think we all tried to put it to the back of our minds, but it was so hard.

Hopefully the experience will give us an extra 1 or 2% when we really need it this season.  

📊Most assists in 22/23 (top five tiers):

⭐️PL: Kevin De Bruyne - 9🅰️
⭐️Ch: Stefan Johansen* - 6🅰️
⭐️L1: Jevani Brown - 8🅰️
⭐️L2: Ben Whitfield - 9🅰️
⭐️NL: Andrew Dallas - 9🅰️

*level w/ Barlaser, Chair, Clarke & Thomas#PL #EFL #ManCity #QPR #ECFC #WeAreBarrow #SolihullMoors pic.twitter.com/eUlmL3IJAk

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) December 15, 2022

Playmaker: Talking of the current campaign, you’ve already got nine goals and nine assists in the National League. How happy have you been with your performances this term?

AD: In terms of goals and assists, I’m better off than I was at this point last season so I’m happy with that. Including the FA Cup, I’ve scored 10 this season so I’ve hit double figures before Christmas, which was my target.

It’s been a bitty season so far though and I’ve not really been in full flow. I’ve had some injury niggles and I had tonsillitis as well. 

When I've played my best stuff I've felt good about myself and there’s no reason why I can’t go on and fire 20 plus goals and fire us up the league. 

Playmaker: Solihull endured a winless November, which must have been tough. What were the factors behind that and do you feel you’re now back on track?

AD: As a team, we've been a bit bitty as well: putting in some good performances and then not backing them up.

Our squad is quite light and we’ve had a lot of boys playing with wee niggles. If there are one or two doing that you can maybe get away with it, but not if there are too many. 

It’s been a hard run of games going Saturday to Tuesday, but we’re an honest bunch and we all want to be there for each other and get through it as a team. Hopefully, we’re now through that sticky patch. 

Playmaker: Here’s an enjoyable stat for you. Across the top five tiers of English football, no player has supplied more league assists than your nine this season! How pleasing is that, particularly given that you’re a striker who likes to run in behind teams?

AD: I’ve wanted to add more layers to my game and when I was younger I would just try and always get in behind. But defenders are becoming aware of that, and I’ll now drop deep to create space for myself and others. 

I’m always trying to link up with Joe Sbarra, Josh Kelly and Ryan Barnett, and I just want to become a more rounded striker. 

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Playmaker: One of your interviews last season stuck in my mind, as you scored all five goals in a 5-0 win over Dover, but spoke more afterwards about the chances you’d missed! 

AD: That sums up the life of a striker, as you always want more. I think you have to have those standards, as in some games you’ll only get one or two chances and you need to take them. 

You're never satisfied and sometimes it can be quite lonely as a striker because you've got to be selfish, but you're being selfish for the team. 

I want to be a nice guy and want to be liked in the dressing room, but sometimes you’ve got to be selfish, you’ve got to be nasty.

Playmaker: As we’ve already touched upon, you came through at Rangers when Steven Gerrard was there. What was it like up there at that time? 

AD: I was there from about 14/15 to when I left to go to Cambridge at 19, and I had lots of good experiences. 

I was on the bench a good few times, and was also in the squad for a Europa League game as well, so that all adds experience.

The main thing that sticks out is the pressure players are under in Glasgow. The importance of having a winning mentality was huge and the professionalism of senior players like Scott Arfield and Steven Davies in maintaining their standards to keep going year after year was really impressive. 

Having that constant demand on yourself is a skill you try to develop yourself, and I will now always be thinking about what I'm doing with my time off and focus it on helping my performance. It’s all about 3 o'clock on a Saturday. 

Playmaker: Last question, Andrew! Solihull are currently seventh in the National League, what are your targets for the remainder of the season?

AD: It’s got to be to finish as high as we can. We need to go on a good run and see where it takes us. We did it last season and there’s no reason we can’t do it again, we know we’re good enough to do that. 

Individually, it’s more of the same. I know I can score goals in a higher league, but you're never going to get that opportunity unless you produce at the level you're at.

I just need to keep hitting the back of the net. 

🛡 Yet to concede in first 15 mins in 2022/23 (top 4 tiers):

PL: Arsenal
Ch: Birmingham
L1: Ipswich
L2: Bradford#COYG #AFC #KRO #BCFC #ITFC #BCAFC pic.twitter.com/mx1u3ZFtcH

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) December 22, 2022