O’Connor happy to dream big
Good Counsel old boy doing very well with Gillingham
IN THE last few years a small handful of lads have headed over to England to try to forge a career in the beautiful game.
Ryan Delaney, Darragh O’Connor and Festy Ebosele have made the trek at different ages, but all have gone since Thomas O’Connor left for Southampton in 2015.
‘At that moment in time I didn’t think about it too much,’ says Thomas, a Rosbercon native with two parents from Wexford, who attended Good Counsel College in New Ross.
‘I kind of felt I was older than what I was when I was 16. I just turned 16 in April and went over then at the start of July.
‘I felt I was nearly ready to go over. Looking back on it now, looking at 15-, 16-year-olds now, you kind of see how young they are, they are only kids really. That’s what I was like, looking back on it, it does look mad.
‘I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot. Some people say your secondary school and college are the best years of your life, but if I had to go back and make the decision again I wouldn’t change it.
‘It helped me to grow up as a person, I think it matured me a lot quicker. It was obviously tough leaving home at that age but I probably dealt with it well enough compared to some lads who have gone over at that age. It’s tough; you just get used to it and get on with it.
‘Everyone at home was very supportive, my family and friends were supportive when I was going over. It’s good nowadays that we can keep in touch so easily over the internet and all.’
O’Connor left as a highly touted talent. He was playing his club soccer for New Ross Town but was probably even better known as one of the main men on the all-conquering Good Counsel College All-Ireland Junior-winning Gaelic football side.
‘It’s still some of the best days I’ve had,’ he remembers. ‘It helped that we had such a good team and we won so many games and cups.
‘Just the group itself, all the lads, everyone getting on so well, it helped, it would be hard to beat going forward. Hopefully I’ll have many more good days to come, but I think looking back on it those days will be hard to beat.’
One memory that would surely be hard to forget is that of Kevin Kehoe stalking the sideline, berating anyone who wasn’t up to their job, be it an official or one of his own charges. It proved to be a useful experience for O’Connor.
‘The current manager at Gillingham at the moment would definitely give him a run for his money! They both like to shout.
‘I don’t mind it, I think Kevin Kehoe made me used to it, I think it helped me when I came here.’
However, the first two years in England were spent in the Southampton academy, looking to make an impact, always trying to improve. Times weren’t easy but Thomas admits the experience itself was enjoyable, even if the surroundings were tough.
‘Looking back at it now I definitely enjoyed the first few years,’ he says. ‘The first few years I was Under-18 at Southampton and they are enjoyable years to be fair, especially when you are in there.
‘The difficult time is when you come home out of the training ground and into digs, there’s not much to do and it’s pretty boring and that.
‘The actual training itself and going in and training every day, playing matches on the weekend, it’s kind of a full on day.
You go in there at nine and are out of there at four or five o’clock, that part of it was pretty enjoyable.
‘After it is most challenging, going from school days, when you are around your friends the whole time, you can go training in the evening. There’s a lot more socialising at home, whereas when I first came over it was just one or two lads in digs with you.
‘One highlight was probably the (FA) Youth Cup when we beat Man U in Old Trafford, we got drawn against Man United in I think the third round, we were the underdogs going away there but beat them 2-1 so that was probably the highlight.
‘I was a Liverpool supporter so it made it even sweeter. I managed to get the equaliser as well so that topped it off even more.’
Thomas had been been playing with the Irish national team since he was Under-15 and that helped garner plenty of interest. However, he was honest in his appraisal of where he stood at that time and was appreciative of the chances he got.
‘I was in there since the start and I was never the best player in the squad but I always managed to stay in there,’ he explains.
‘Some lads who were never there at the start came in later, and there were some lads who were the best players there at Under-15 and Under-16 and they either chose different paths or fell out of the game.
‘I think I was just lucky to be in there from the start,
I learned off the others and kind of managed to stay in there the whole way through, so that’s one thing I’m probably proud of.
‘Every game is nice, when you hear the national anthem playing, I do enjoy standing up and singing the national anthem.
‘The highlight was probably making my -21s debut. I played a lot of games Under-15s, -16s, -17s. We played against some of the big teams but we were beaten so I don’t have too many good memories of those games!’
While Thomas has been involved in the Under-21s’ bid to reach the European Championships the last couple of seasons, it has coincided with a big step up in his professional career, moving from the comfortable surroundings of the Southampton Under-23s to the pressure cooker environment of League One and Gillingham.
‘I played three or four years with the -23s in Southampton so I was looking to get first team football. It’s hard when you haven’t had any experience for someone to take a gamble on you, give you the chance in first team football.
‘Steve Evans, the Gillingham manager, got in contact with Southampton. I’m not really sure how he got in contact, but he got in contact, I got a call from one of the staff at Southampton basically one day who said you have an offer from Gillingham to go on loan for six months.
‘I was happy enough to take it and try my hand in League One.
‘It is a lot different to be fair. At -23s you have your arse wiped for you in some ways, everything
is given to you, the games don’t really matter. If you don’t play well or lose a game it’s on to the next, there’s no real repercussions.
‘Men’s football is a results business, they don’t care (as much) how you play as long as you get the three points and as long as you do your job for the team.
‘It’s a lot more ruthless as well, if you don’t play well and do your job you’ll be out of the team.’
He arrived at Gillingham at the start of the 2019-’20 season and was able to become a regular before Covid hit. He appeared in 28 league games and was generally in the first eleven, and his club were in the promotion hunt when the season was abandoned.
‘I got a good run of games last year and we got an FA Cup run which was nice, got on the tele.
‘Then the league was cut short, it was a bit disappointing at the end of last year with all the things that have happened.
‘I think Southampton didn’t want to send me out on loan at the start of this season and in pre-season, but I felt like I wasn’t going to get a look in with the first team and would have been with the -23s again.
‘I didn’t really want that again, I was looking to go out on loan again and Gillingham were still interested so I was happy enough to come back.
‘I enjoyed it here last season and was happy enough to come back and hopefully get a full season this year.
‘I think it’s a tough league, anyone can beat anyone, a few wins on the bounce can send you right up there into the playoffs, but a few losses on the bounce and you’re down near the bottom.
‘It’s tricky but it’s about getting that momentum and hopefully if we can get on a little run in the second half of the season we can push towards those playoff places, it’s just tough.’
Looking forward, Thomas has the big dreams and the smaller dreams too. He knows big things can happen in a short space of time, there are examples all over the league, but he knows the most important thing is that it’s down to his own hard work.
‘Yeah, football is a mad sport really, you never know what can happen,’ he says. ‘Hopefully I can work my way up the leagues and get into the Premier League.
‘The dream would be to play in the Premier League and obviously if I could also play for the Ireland senior team that would be the dream. If I could make a living out of the game over here I’d be happy enough.
‘The last few (Ireland) camps there have been Portsmouth players called up and that, so hopefully I can impress in League One this season and then see what happens next season.
‘If you impress in League One there might be a few other clubs come calling but it’s down to you at the end of the day, to how you perform and just trying to impress others.
‘Definitely playing for Ireland would be the dream.’
While it has been a tough few weeks for Gillingham as a team, O’Connor has continued to keep his place, generally at left-back, and impressed in tough times.
Like he was when he made the journey to Southampton almost six years ago, he’s still one to watch, and it would be no surprise at all if he stepped up a division in the next season or two.
The dream would be to play in the Premier League and obviously if I could also play for the Ireland senior team