This weekend St. Pat’s manager Stephen O’Donnell, Shels attacker Michael O’Connor and UCD Captain Jack Keaney join Alan Keane and Breifne Earley to talk about their respective starts to their SSE Airtricity League seasons.
Alan Keane talks through the games of the last week including briefly discussing Ireland’s qualifier defeats in Belgrade and at the hands of Luxemebourg. With the second round of the Premier Division and opening weekend of the First Division there was plenty to talk about on the show.
Stephen O’Donnell joins us to discuss Bill King’s last minute winner against Drogheda United and two fine performances in Tallaght and against the Drog’s last weekend. He chats about the management structure at the club and the role that Alan Mathews is playing within the setup.
He also chats about the impact of players who’ve arrived at the club this season as well as the goals scored this weekend by players who’ve left Richmond Park for other pastures in 2021.
Shel’s recruit Michael O’Connor talks about his side’s performance in their league opener at Eamonn Deacy Park where they took home a point despite being reduced to ten men in the first half of the game between the expected title challengers.
He discusses his last few seasons bouncing around a few clubs including Dundalk, Linfield, Waterford, Ross County before his arrival at Shels this season where he plans to take advantage of his reunion with Alan Reynolds who was his manager during his most enjoyable spell in the game at Waterford.
UCD captain Jack Keaney spoke about mixing his studies and his football career in Belfield and the difference between his life as a professional with Sligo Rovers and the student lifestyle.
He talked about the importance of having a qualification to fall back on when the football days are done and dusted eventually, especially considering the experience of his brother’s retirement from inter county gaelic games due to injury in his mid 20’s.
He talks about the professional setup at UCD, the role models who have progressed through the club to professional careers throughout the league and further afield and his own ambitions to have a long term ambitions to play and eventually coach within the sport.