FROWN UNDER
Mceneff on why playing in Oz can be tricky
LOOKS can be deceiving – just ask Aaron Mceneff.
The new Shamrock Rovers recruit – back for a second spell – has no regrets about his move Down Under to play in Australia’s ‘A-league’ for the last 18 months.
It was an intriguing lifestyle change for the Derry man and his young family – one he wasn’t expecting but couldn’t ignore when Perth Glory looked to nab him from Hearts.
But below the surface, not everything was as it seemed.
For instance, while some of his games were played out in magnificent 60,000-seater venues, his team were training in a public park.
“No disrespect but it’s not all the big stadiums and stuff,” said Mceneff at the Hoops’ Roadstone training base in Dublin yesterday.
“There’s only a few teams in the league with their own training ground.
“You see the infrastructure like the stadiums but then we trained in a public park and there would be people walking their dogs.
“We had a decent HQ with a gym, physio room, canteen and changing room. That was all quality.
“But then we had to jump in a car and drive around to the pitch and train. It opened my eyes a little bit because I didn’t expect it.
“I trained in a park in Derry a few times but it was just us there. You wouldn’t get many days where a dog might run through your drill.”
But Perth Glory’s lack of a proper training pitch is the least of their worries right now, a fact Mceneff knows only too well.
They haven’t had a club owner since last summer and are being propped up financially by the Australian Professional Leagues.
“The players in the dressing room, we were fully aware of the situation and it was tough at times to take your mind away from that,” said Mceneff of Glory’s strife.
“There was a lot going on at the club, a lot of uncertainty. For myself, my missus and kid, after moving out that side of the world, it was tough to deal with.
“But, because it’s such a massive club and the only A-league club in Western Australia, I never had a feeling that it would go under.
“The league took the club over in July and were paying our wages. It just seemed to be day after day, week after week there was something else going on.”
The 28-year-old admits the football itself also took some getting used to, with geography and climate to the fore.
“People watch on TV but it can be misleading because there’s a lot of travel, ztemperatures are warm and teams playing away have a time difference to deal with,” he said.
“You don’t get a true reflection watching on TV. I’ve had times where I spoke to my Da after a game and he said it looks really slow. But we’ve had a five-and-ahalf hour flight the day before, dealing with a three-hour time difference and then it’s probably 35C heat as well.
“I found that difficult to adjust to, especially for the away games. It’s tough and you need a strong mentality to just get on with things. There’s very good players but sometimes it can be misleading for people watching it on TV.”
The midfielder, who has signed an initial loan deal until the end of the year that will then become permanent, is now looking forward to home comforts.
“I’m buzzing to get back playing in the league,” he said. “I never stopped watching the games and seeing the attendances, you just know there’ll be that proper bite, that football feeling you get from the fans.”