Crusaders won’t be taking ideal start for granted, vows O’Neill
Select team and Ronnie McFall was boss. He called me in and invited me to Portadown. But I had made a commitment to United until the end of the season.
Ronnie’s response was to drop me from the squad after turning him down! That shows you how ruthless he was. Ronnie did sign me eventually when Portadown were in a transitional period and looking to build.
I was 20 and stayed with the Ports for six years. I did enjoy my time there, I had a great relationship with the fans, but I felt the teams never really fulfilled their potential.
We had Kevin Braniff, Wesley Boyle, Neil McCafferty, Shane McCabe, Keith O’Hara and David Miskelly, players that should have won more.
We got to the League Cup final and lost it. In the Irish Cup final against Glentoran, Michael Gault is tripped up, nothing is given and we lose the game. It was sad to see the Ports relegated and I would love to see them back in the Premiership.
Q AHow did the move to Cliftonville come about?
Cliftonville had been interested in me when Tommy Breslin was manager. I was very saddened to learn of Tommy’s passing. I only played under him for one game but had spoken to him many times.
Tommy was brilliant, he made you feel like a million dollars. I used to watch Cliftonville games with my godfather Paul McLaughlin before they won the league.
I enjoyed playing for Ronnie and have a lot of respect for him, he was great to be around but he didn’t want me to leave.
Gerard Lyttle got in touch and he’s a real football man who wanted the Reds to play a certain way. Stephen Baxter had asked me to go to Crusaders but once Cliftonville showed an interest my mind was made up.
It was an honour to pull on the Cliftonville jersey but it was a frustrating time. I had got married to Aine in June 2016 and missed some of pre-season.
Caoimhin Bonner was sent off against Larnaca after 12 minutes and that was my debut. We hardly touched the ball and then a hamstring injury kept me out for a while.
I had bad luck with injuries and looking back I just wish my time there had been better as it was a club I wanted to win trophies with. Barry Gray came in and I just didn’t feel like I fitted in with his plans.
Q AYou moved onto Larne, how did that feel?
I was a bit sceptical as I didn’t know much about the owner Kenny Bruce and I was dropping down to the Championship but when I met Kenny, manager Tiernan Lynch and Gareth Clements, the chairman, I knew the club was going to be successful.
Kenny is a driven character and I didn’t know at the time how successful he was. He makes you want to do well for him, as does Tiernan. The meeting with those guys saved my career because I wasn’t sure where I was going at that point. But I don’t think I could have walked away from football, it was always a privilege to play the game. The full-time training helps you physically.
❝ There’s a tight bond within the group (at Larne). You have massive characters but no egos
Q AHow do you respond to the cynicism surrounding the investment at Larne? What people say doesn’t bother me. Players like myself, Ciaran Caldwell and Marty Donnelly weren’t playing at Cliftonville when we joined Larne.
People will say I signed for the money but players want to win things and we are in a position to do that at Larne.
Jeff Hughes is a winner and when you sign players like him and Mark Randall then you see a team that can only improve. We hope to compete with the top Premiership sides now.
Q AWhat family backing have you had?
My parents John and Deirdre gave up their time and drove me around the country to go to training. I’m the youngest of five and my sisters and brothers always support me. If I have a bad game my dad will check on me.
That support unit is important when times are hard. Aine is my main support. She has given up a lot to help me go full-time. She works in childcare but gave that up so I can play full-time.
It’s special when Aine and the kids, my daughter Fiadh (5) and son Culann, who is two next month, share the good times at Larne. Having the kids as mascots was special.
I wasn’t around as much as I wanted to be when Fiadh was born but I now get more quality time with them both. I’d love Culann to go into football but we will see how interested he is. Fiadh is playing for an Under-6 team.
Q ADo you regard this season as being one of the toughest in your career?
I don’t really see it that way. I’ve played in the Premiership for eight or nine years. It’s nothing new to me. It’s a challenge and the players appreciate the support we have received from the fans.
We are looking to cater for even more fans and play football the right way. Winning the Championship with Larne was my first league winner’s medal and it was my best moment in football.
It was the best group of players I have played with. There’s a tight bond within the group. You have massive characters but no egos. It’s the most enjoyable time I’ve had in football and it was special to win the league. CRUSADERS goalkeeper Sean O’Neill believes the team are starting to reap the benefits of a more full-time culture at Seaview but he insists the players won’t get carried away after making a perfect start.
A year on from the Crues’ slow start to last season, Stephen Baxter’s side have looked sharp and hungry after a European campaign which included a win over B36 Torshavn and two tough battles with Wolves.
Maximum points from the opening three matches sees the Shore Road men sit top of the Danske Bank Premiership but Larne will aim to smash that perfect record at Seaview tomorrow.
O’Neill admits the signs are promising as the Crues aim to wrestle the Gibson Cup off Linfield but no-one will allow complacency to creep in.
“I’ve had a good pre-season under me and, like everyone else, I’m feeling good,” said O’Neill.
“We have strength in depth everywhere and have signed well. Jamie (McGonigle) coming in is a good signing for us and, if you look at the defence, Chris Hegarty and Colin Coates have formed a good partnership.
“When you have Sean Ward and Howard Beverland sitting on the bench, you know there are good options for the manager.
“It’s looking good but no-one will be getting carried away. We are too long in the tooth to get ahead of ourselves. We know there are bigger and tougher challenges ahead and we will take it one step at a time.
“We have Larne next and they are obviously a very good side so we are expecting a tough game.
“It’s going to be the most competitive league we have seen in years. Six or seven teams can challenge at the top, and Larne will bring big crowds but we always focus on ourselves.
“I think the European games killed us a year ago and the mistake we made was trying to chase games against quality opposition. The way we set up against Wolves was testament to Stephen’s (Baxter) tactical awareness in understanding how we should manage games like that.
“Sometimes you just have to be compact and defend well. We did that in Europe and, compared to last year, we have benefited from a good pre-season and the full-time aspect is working.
“There were always going to be teething issues. The management team has adjusted things and training has been first class.”