GARY SHAW INTERVIEW – END OF SEASON
By Daire Walsh
A broken arm may have prevented him from playing in his club’s final game of the campaign against Limerick FC, but Shamrock Rovers striker Gary Shaw still managed to end his second season at the Tallaght Stadium on a high.
With 12 goals from 36 appearances across four competitions, the Kildare native was a very popular choice as Senior Player of the Year at the club’s annual awards ceremony on October 27.
While it wasn’t something that was on his mind during the course of a busy term with the south Dublin outfit, Shaw acknowledged that he was delighted to be recognised for his performances in 2017.
“Obviously it’s my second year at the club now, and to pick up player of the year in the second year is a great achievement personally. It’s something that you don’t really think about throughout a season. You don’t think, ‘oh, I want to get player of the year this year’. You just want to do your best that you possibly can in every game, and for the team,” Shaw remarked.
“But when it comes around, and they start talking about it, if you’re in with a chance, it’s nice to be considered. I managed to pick it up, and I was delighted. No one can take that away from me, I suppose.”
With a full year of full-time football under his belt, Shaw was ready to make a significant impact under Stephen Bradley – who was appointed as manager on a permanent basis following a spell as interim boss in 2016.
Shaw believes the philosophy of the ex-Arsenal trainee helped him to prosper in the Rovers attack, and though he still sees room for improvement in his game, he was thrilled to get into double figures for goals.
“Last year was obviously my first time experiencing full-time football. We hadn’t a great season in the first year, but I think since the manager has come in, he’s really taken a shine to me. We played a way that suits my style of play. I’ve adapted to different ways of playing as well, and then the personnel he’s brought in has helped me greatly.
“It paid off by getting me into double figures. It was a target I set for this season. I managed to do that, and at the same time, I look back throughout the season and say I could have got five, six, seven more. That’s what I’m going to go for now next year. It’s obviously setting new targets, and hoping to hit those targets, and just keep on improving as a player.”
It was against one of his old clubs – Bray Wanderers – that Shaw made his final appearance of the season on October 20. An accidental collision with a Bray defender meant that he was replaced just 32 minutes into the game, and left him with an aforementioned broken arm.
“It was horrendous conditions for a game, and there was just a freak accident basically. I went jumping for a header, and just myself and the defender were kind of latching onto each other and I fell down. I put my two arms down to break my fall, and he just unfortunately came down, kind of lost control of his own body, and his whole body weight just came down on my arm when it was fully extended,” Shaw explained.
“It just snapped the bone in half. It’s the upper part of my arm, between my elbow and my shoulder. The humorous bone. I had big surgery on it, four hour surgery. I was in the hospital there the other day, and the surgeon telling me bits of bone have to thrown in the bin. Big operation, but luckily enough it’s my arm, and he’s not talking about a leg. It’s my arm, so it’s fixable.”
17 wins from 33 league outings ensured that Rovers finished third in the Premier Division table, which will give them a spot in the Europa League qualifiers for the fourth year in succession. The aim for 2017 will be to challenge Cork City and Dundalk for the title, and Shaw believes Rovers can take great heart from their recent victories against the league’s top-two teams.
“A big thing last year was not winning against the big teams. In previous years, we struggled to beat the likes of Cork, Dundalk, Derry and stuff like that. This year, we managed to beat Cork and beat Dundalk in a couple of games.
“This season has given a lot of players that experience of beating the likes of those teams, and what it takes to beat those teams. A couple of more signings now, and we definitely go and challenge.”
Within the past 12 months, there have been a number of high-profile moves for League of Ireland players across channel. Daryl Horgan, Andy Boyle, Seani Maguire and Kevin O’Connor all made moves to the English Championship, and there was speculation that Shaw might be in line for a transfer to Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock.
Shaw admitted that he heard whispers of interest from the Rugby Park men (currently managed by former Chelsea defender Steve Clarke), but unless there is an offer that is simply too good to refuse, he is building towards a bright 2018 season with Shamrock Rovers.
“There was whispers of it alright, but I wanted to stay at Rovers, to be honest. I really enjoy it, and like I said, the group of players we have now I think is a really good group. Obviously if an offer comes in, and it’s too good to turn down, then fair enough.
“I don’t think I’m gaining anything from going and playing the Scottish league, unless you’re playing for Celtic, to be honest with you. I’m more than happy to stay at Rovers. There was whispers of it, and you hear things being said. Things being put into paper and stuff like that, but I have one focus really and just hopefully doing well for Rovers and getting a new contract,” Shaw added.