Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MAXIE SWAIN ta Havi both abro new hope trend
WITH the same sense of adventure which has defined his transatlantic career, Thomas Stewart is ready to throw himself into his new challenge at Larne.
The much-travelled 31-year-old ace put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal at Inver Park over the New Year, becoming the latest high-profile addition to the fascinating story unfolding at the harbour club.
Like Davy Mcdaid, Ciaran Caldwell and Martin Donnelly who all trod the path before him, former Linfield winger Stewart had plenty of suitors once it was known he fancied returning to the Irish League after a decade plying his trade down south, across the water and even in stadiums as farflung as America’s western seaboard.
But like his new teammates, it’s easy to understand the appeal of Tiernan Lynch’s team.
Bankrolled by multi-millionaire real estate tycoon Kenny Bruce, Larne have the financial firepower to match, or even outflank, any team in the Irish League.
And money aside, it’s an intriguing place to be right now.
For some 20 years, long-suffering denizens of the Irish League have watched with a mixture of awe and envy at how money has transformed the game and the fortunes of many a team in England.
And now, lowly little Northern Ireland has its own version, albeit in miniature.
Sure the new club owner, his chairman Gareth Clements and the powers-that-be at Larne would baulk at such comparisons, rightly pointing out that this is no vanity project or white elephant.
Indeed, talking to Match on Tuesday just last month, Clements outlined his mission statement.
Larne would function like a slick, well-oiled business, and eventually become self-sufficient rather than spend their days relying on Bruce’s largesse.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that a white knight – and a lifelong Larne fan into the bargain – has ridden to the rescue of an embattled club hitherto down on its knees and staring down the barrel.
It’s a positive, uplifting, good news story for a much-underrated league, and for Stewart it is great to be a part of it.
“It must be 10 years since I’ve been in the Irish League and I just thought it was a good point in my career to come back,” explained Stewart, who spent last season in the League of Ireland with Dundalk.
“Over the years, I have played in the UK, Ireland and abroad but when I spoke to Gareth Clements and Tiernan Lynch, it just seemed the best club for me and the most exciting project.
“I’ve had a few training sessions now and everything is great.”
Stewart won back-to-back league and Irish Cup doubles with the Blues, a title and Setanta Cup at Shamrock Rovers as well as the championship in his maiden season over in the States with Sacramento Republic.
So success and silverware have accompanied him wherever he has gone, a tradition he’s keen to maintain at his new club.
Lynch’s men have been in sparkling form over recent weeks, taking 16 points from a possible 18 to sneak into the top six and give themselves an outside chance of reining in second place. And this Saturday they make the trip to Stewart’s hometown team Portadown in a game which could have huge ramifications for the Championship standings, while revealing just how realistic a target promotion is for both sides.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Larne’s wretched start to the new campaign will prove too costly in their pursuit of a top two finish, but either way Stewart is preaching patience, insisting everyone at the club is calm about the situation as they plot their way back to the top flight after a decade-long exile.
“Most clubs I have been at I have won something with,” said the former Northern Ireland under-21 captain.
“But I don’t think anyone is getting ahead of themselves here at Larne.
“It is a credit to the lads for how they’ve been playing recently and to the management for recruiting the boys they have got in and if we can do it this year then great, but if not then obviously we’ll be planning for next year or the year after. It’s not just a short-term fix, they are looking to do something long-term.
“The club wants to get up and the sooner the better but there’s no pressure on anybody to get up right now.”
Throughout his career Stewart has been both a goalscorer and provider, and he’s confident he can bring those qualities to a Larne strikeforce already bristling with the likes of Mcdaid and Donnelly.
“What I want to do on the pitch here is just exactly the same as what I have always done,” said Stewart.
“I am there to obviously bring a lot more experience to the team. I have travelled a lot, I have played for a lot of teams and managers so hopefully I can hit the ground running whenever I get in and hopefully make the most of my time back home.”
A graduate of the Hillsborough Boys youth team, Stewart spent his formative years across the water with Wolverhampton Wanderers, signing a one-year youth and then two-and-ahalf-year pro deal with the Black Country outfit.
He returned home aged 20, switching to David Jeffrey’s all-conquering Linfield who, during Stewart’s time and for a few years hence, were next to untouchable.
“The big thing for me whenever I left Wolves, they had a lot of older and experienced players and I don’t think I had quite developed at that stage and I just wanted to continue playing as professionally as possible and as full-time as possible and Linfield offered me that,” said Stewart.
“And once I had won a few