SOCCER: AIRTRICITY LEAGUE SEASON PREVIEW – GARY SHAW INTERVIEW
Shaw eager to hit the ground running with Rovers
By Daire Walsh
IT has been a long wait, but starting this Friday evening, the new League of Ireland will kick off in earnest.
However, although eight teams will get their campaigns underway on Friday, SSE Airtricity League Premier Division champions Dundalk will begin the defence of their title away to Bray Wanderers on Saturday evening.
Shamrock Rovers will travel to the Showgrounds on the same night for an encounter with Sligo Rovers, and as he prepares for a potential debut with the south Dubliners, Kildare native Gary Shaw is well aware of the danger that Dave Roberston’s side possess.
“It’s a club with a big history, and a big record in the league. They obviously didn’t have the run they expected last year, fighting for relegation. The new manager has come in, an experienced manager who has managed in League One, and he’s brought in some very good players,” Shaw remarked.
“It’ll be an interesting game. I imagine it’ll be a big crowd at it. We just have to look after ourselves, we won’t worry about Sligo and what players they have, and who their manager is, and how many are at the game. It’s just how we play on the day, and that’s what we’re going to be doing.”
Following his move to the Tallaght Stadium from Longford Town, Shaw is eager to hit the ground running in 2016. He got on the scoresheet in a home pre-season friendly with Shelbourne last Friday evening, and the former Newbridge Town star acknowledged that this was a nice confidence boost ahead of their league opener.
“It was the ideal game to get your first goal. Always nice to score, and it wasn’t exactly a screamer, but they all count at the end of the day really. It’s nice to have that little confidence booster going into the game against Sligo. So hopefully I can nail down a position during the week in training, and hopefully get a goal in the first league game,” Shaw remarked.
It proved to be an unusual pre-season for Shaw and Rovers, as they spent a large portion of it in India – where they were competing in the Sait Nagjee Trophy. After defeating the 1860 Munich’s reserve, as well as the Argentina U23s, in their group stage, Pat Fenlon’s men ultimately came up short to Atlético Paranaense in the tournament’s penultimate round.
Shaw admitted that the squad were taken by surprise when they heard that they would be heading off to India, but even though the conditions were tough at times, he felt that it was a worthwhile trip overall.
“It was a bit of a surprise obviously. I just signed, and within the first couple of days of being back in pre-season, we were told we’re going to India. It was kind of hard to believe. You don’t know what is going through your head, and what to expect, but it was a real beneficial trip. It was tough at times with the weather, when you’re playing in 35 degree heat, but it was a great experience all round.”
“Training every day, playing in front of crowds of 20/30,000 at the games, and the opposition we played as well were very good. Young sides, but very energetic and technically very good. I was delighted with it.”
Rovers follow Saturday’s game against Sligo will an opening home fixture against the newly-promoted Wexford Youths on Friday, and if The Hoops are to mount a serious title challenge, Shaw believes that they need to turn Tallaght into a fortress.
“Even myself last year with Longford, you’d kind of go to Tallaght, and you wouldn’t really fear Rovers that much. You felt you could go there and you could get a win, or you could get a result. We nearly did pull it off last year, we were unfortunate in the game. We want to get Rovers back to that dominant force, and especially when teams come to Tallaght.”
“There’s fear before the game even starts, and you get good crowds at the game, and people come out in numbers and support the team. Just have that whole feel back in the stadium, and that winning mentality,” Shaw added.