LEAGUE OF IRELAND SOCCER: GARY SHAW INTERVIEW
Quicker than expected return from injury leaves Shaw in a good position ahead of new season
By Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING the broken arm he sustained in last October’s league meeting at Bray Wanderers, it was expected that Gary Shaw would be in a race against time to be fit for the start of the Shamrock Rovers’ 2018 campaign.
However, the former Newbridge striker made a surprise return in the club’s recent friendly encounter with Longford Town – and helped himself to a brace of assists in a 3-1 success for his side.
Given the initial prognosis suggested he was going to be ruled out for a much longer period, the Kildare man was delighted to be back on the field within 13 weeks of his intensive surgery.
“Originally when I had done the damage, back in October, the initial thought was four to six months basically. That was down to the fact of how bad the actual break was, and the surgery was fairly intense. There was a five and a half hour procedure that required a lot of metal to go into my arm basically to put it all back together,” Shaw remarked.
“The arm broke into five pieces, and with that much trauma in the arm, it was going to take a lot of rehab to get the arm back to what it was beforehand. To be back on the pitch playing after 13 weeks, it was great. Obviously I’m still not 100%, but it’s strong enough to be back playing and getting pushed and dragged, and pulled and all that kind of stuff. Delighted to get it back to that way.”
Rovers will get their league season underway on Friday, 16 February with an away trip to arch rivals Bohemians. Before then, they will face Dalkurd FF and Hammarby as part of a pre-season camp in Portugal.
A Leinster Senior Cup date with St Mochta’s will also give Hoops manager Stephen Bradley a chance to evaluate the options available to him, and Shaw is hopeful that he can nail down a starting place from the very start of this season.
“Last year I didn’t play in the first three games of the season. There was reasons behind that. I wasn’t able to go on a pre-season trip because my missus was pregnant and stuff like that. It was out of my control, but I missed that two week trip and then I fell behind the lads. It wasn’t until the fourth game of the season that I actually got a start.
“From there on in, I played pretty much every game. If I wasn’t starting and the team started off well, it’s difficult to get into a starting 11 full of confidence. I want to make sure I’m in that 11, and we get off to a good start.”
Prior to the club’s departure for Portugal last Sunday, it was announced that former Republic of Ireland international Joey O’Brien had signed for Rovers in advance of the new season. The versatile Dubliner – without a club since being released by West Ham United in June 2016 – had recently been training with former side Bolton Wanderers.
He is not the only new addition at the Tallaght Stadium, though, and Shaw is looking forward to playing alongside ex-Cork City midfielder Greg Bolger.
“Yeah, Cork did so well last year. Greg was an integral part of that squad, but he felt that obviously we’re doing something right. He wanted to come to Rovers, and I think it’s really positive that he’s done that. I think this year is the time that we’ve to go and challenge proper for silverware.
“I think those little additions will definitely bridge that gap between the top-two [Cork and Dundalk] the last couple of seasons. I think we’re definitely on par now to go and challenge properly for this title.”
Indeed, provided they can bring the right level of consistency to their performances, Shaw believes they are more than capable of closing the gap on the league’s big title contenders.
“We’re not a million miles off Cork or Dundalk. That’s what people say. You read stuff on Twitter. You kind of laugh at it sometimes what people say, but we beat both teams last year. What let us down last year was our consistency, and that just wasn’t good enough.
“Adding the one or two players I think will improve that consistency. Get a good start to the season, and really just build on that then. From a win at the start, going on to the next game against Dundalk.
“If we can start well, I definitely think we’re in a with shout. Because you look at how well Cork started last year. Because they had such a good start, they had the league wrapped up by June, July. It’s so important to start well and that’s what we’re aiming for,” Shaw added.