Thomas has a Byrne-ing desire at Pats
I was surprised, to be fair, when Tim Clancy got the job. I thought he was still playing, but he’s been doing very well. He’s young and has fresh ideas and we feed off that. THOMAS Byrne says he’s itching to get back playing again in the coming weeks after suffering heartbreak in a pre-season game for St Patrick’s Athletic.
The 19-year-old signed for the Inchicore outfit following his home-town club Drogheda United’s relegation, but it hasn’t gone according to plan since then for the underage international from Tenure.
‘I broke a metatarsal in my foot on the first night of pre-season against Cabinteely, which was terrible,’ he recalled.
‘I wasn’t even making a tackle - I’d just had to change my boots and the second pair weren’t as solid and I went over on my foot and felt the break straightaway.
‘I was flying at the time, but you just have to get on with it and now I have to do pre-season all over again, but I should be able to start running again this week.’
Byrne’s return to fitness can’t come soon enough as St Pat’s look forward to big games with Bohs, Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers on the next three Fridays. The chance to play in such fixtures meant it was a no-brainer when the offer came to play under manager Liam Buckley and alongside Drogheda brothers Killian and Ryan Brennan.
‘Bucko gave me a ring and asked if I was interested in coming. Drogheda never rang me. If they had I would have thought about it, but the money wouldn’t have been great and here I’m full-time,’ Byrne enthused.
‘I hope to play a good bit and start scoring goals.’
By his own admission, Byrne’s temperament has tended to let him down in the past, but in Conan Byrne - no relation - he has an experienced teammate who plays in a similar position and is the ideal person to call on for advice.
‘He is a proper professional,’ Thomas agreed. ‘ He comes in from doing the teaching, gets his head down and gets straight into it. He’s been very consistent in the league and scores goals even when he’s not playing that well.’
At 32, though, Conan has no prospect of playing across the water, while former Brighton & Hove Albion youth Thomas still harbours hopes of returning to England in the longer term.
‘Hopefully I can get a bit of form and get back over the water,’ he agreed.
‘But I wouldn’t want to go and play Under-23 - first-team football is crucial for me.’