Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I’LL SHAY THE COURSE & DO VARD YARDS
SHAY MCCARTAN hopes to emulate Jamie Vardy by making his football fortune after an apprenticeship in the backwaters of English football. Vardy – whose goals shot Leicester City to the Premier League title last year – has enjoyed a rags to riches rise, starting out with Stocksbridge in the Northern Premier League. Burnley striker Andre Gray and QPR’S Conor Washington are other examples of players who have climbed the football ladder after learning their craft at a lower level. And Northern Ireland new boy Mccartan, currently plying his trade with Accrington Stanley in League Two after being released by Burnley as a teenager, is keen to follow suit. Tipped to play at a “higher level” by Michael O’neill, the former Down Minor GAA star said: “It’s nice to hear that and I believe it as well. “You see players getting a chance and progressing all the time – the likes of Jamie Vardy. “Conor Washington was also playing League Two a while back and he’s in the Championship now, so there are examples of players who have done it in the past and I don’t see why I can’t do it too.” On being released by Burnley at the age of 18 – just two years after moving to England – Mccartan said: “It was a horrible time. I went on holiday and didn’t know what was going to happen next. “I then got a call from Accrington and jumped at it. The club was local to Burnley and it has been good to me. It has kickstarted my career.” Mccartan initially got the call to come into last week’s training camp in Manchester, but impressed O’neill enough to make the squad for tomorrow’s New Zealand friendly and next week’s World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan. The unavailability of Washington, Jamie Ward and Will Grigg helped his cause, but the Newry-born forward is eager to capitalise. He said: “On the second day of the training camp, Michael pulled me aside and told me I was called up for the two games. “He said ‘don’t be nervous and just keep doing what you’re doing.’ I texted my dad and I had a big smirk on my face. “I was meant to go on holidays with my team-mates and I’d normally be in the sun somewhere, but I’d rather do this all day long. “I’d be delighted to play on Friday night. It would be the best moment of my career so far. For any player to play international football, that’s the pinnacle.” Mccartan ended the season in a rich vein of form, scoring 10 goals in his last 18 league outings. He said: “I’m happy enough how things ended, I was playing consistently and that helped get my fitness up and show what I can do for the full 90 minutes.”