New Forest Green signing Cian Harries is eager to learn and develop his game alongside experienced defenders Ryan Innis and Ben Tozer.
Harries made his debut for FGR last weekend in a 1-1 draw away at Altrincham and praised the opportunity to play alongside the 29 and 34 year-old defenders;
“Ryan and Toze came on today and they’re both great talkers, you just never stop learning in football. I’ve learnt so much since turning professional 10 years ago and to be able to learn off people like that is great.
“It’s a big difference because I would’ve been that player a few weeks ago at Woking, that people would sponge off, and now I feel like a bit of a child coming in and absorbing information off other people.”
A solid debut, Cian. 👏#WeAreFGR💚 pic.twitter.com/bGCeq3Cb2O
— Forest Green Rovers (@FGRFC_Official) January 26, 2025
Harries slotted straight into Steve Cotterill’s side, having played 21 times in the league this season for Woking, making him well-equipped to go straight in and play.
Being one of the more experienced players at Woking, having 61 EFL appearances to his name alongside 66 National League matches, Harries explained the decision to make a move to FGR;
“The position in the table, the opportunity to work with a manager who has experience managing at a lot higher level than this, the standard of players, and just the full package of the football club was a massive attraction.
“I want to be able to compete at the right end of the league where I think the standard of my football is, at the top end of this division.”
Harries continued to show his excitement around the move, explaining how it came to be happily:
“It came out of the blue, I was about ten minutes from home after training at Woking. I got a call from a fella that represents me, and he just said would you like to go to Forest Green, give me a couple hours and I’ll get it sorted for you.
“It was done by half-five on Friday night, I was over the moon. I’ve worked hard the last couple of years, dropped down to the national league from being in the league and went to Aldershot, got my games there, then went to Woking.
“It doesn’t feel like hard work when you’re doing it, but when you reflect on it I’ve worked hard to get the opportunity to play for a brilliant football club and manager.”
🗣️ | @Cian_Harries#WeAreFGR💚 pic.twitter.com/O5YlM5ffKi
— Forest Green Rovers (@FGRFC_Official) January 17, 2025
Christian Doidge’s injury-time equaliser maintained FGR’s 17 game unbeaten run in the league. Forest Green sit second in the league, with only three points separating the top three.
Harries commented on his measured approach to the end of the season acknowledging that consistency is vital at this stage of the league campaign.
“This is the crunch end of the season that you want to be a part of.
“Looking around us it’s tight, no medals get handed out in January, so it’s about continuing to plug away and making sure we’re still around there in the back-end of April/start of May.”
