Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TRAVELLING IS THE IDEAL PREP FOR WOLVES ACE
RISING Ireland under-21 star Connor Ronan insists he’s perfectly suited to a globe-trotting journey to the top in football.
The classy midfielder featured as a teen for Wolves in glamour games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Wolves. Yet his domestic loan spells at Portsmouth, Walsall and Blackpool didn’t work out.
Instead, it was his extended stint on loan at Slovakian top-flight club Dunajska Streda that turned the boy into a man.
The 22-year-old’s move to Grasshoppers had a slow start due to a knee injury but a substitute outing in the Swiss league proved ideal before he departed for international duty.
Rochdale-born Ronan, whose paternal grandparents were both born in Ireland, said: “After that Walsall loan didn’t go as planned, I jumped at the chance of playing abroad.
“I really wanted to test myself and it’s gone really well on and off the pitch.
“The main thing I’ve learned is that it gives you that opportunity to just focus on football.
“There are no distractions which is a good thing. I was going back home from training, recovering, eating, doing everything right.
“Those nine months changed me as a person and has changed my attitude towards football. I’d like to think that showed on the pitch as well.”
Yesterday’s fixture in Iceland had to be postponed after two players tested positive for the virus – just two days after another pair were struck down.
Whether or not the Azzurri are depleted,
Ronan insists Ireland will be seeking to upset the nation that shares the record of five titles with Spain.
He said: “Our mindset is to win every game. It’s not to pick up a point and hope to win the next game.
“Ireland have never reached a major under-21 tournament so qualification would be a massive achievement.”