McShane ‘ready to go’ ahead of Dale debut

NEW Dale signing Paul McShane insists he’s ready to hit the ground running – starting today with the visit of Accrington Stanley.

The 33-year-old has been without a club since leaving Championship side Reading in the summer, but has been training regularly to keep fit.

Dale have suffered a spate of injuries in recent weeks, with Brian Barry-Murphy’s backline in particular short on numbers. Eoghan O’Connell, Jim McNulty and Tyler Magloire have all been side-lined, while fullbacks Rhys Norrington-Davies and Luke Matheson are missing this weekend having been called up for international duty. So the signing of Republic of Ireland international McShane comes as a welcome boost for BBM.

“There’s not much time for bedding in, so I’m ready to go. I’ve been training with a team myself, so it’s not as if I’ve just been going to the gym every day and doing bench presses!” said McShane. “I’ve been trying to keep my training specific to playing football, so I’m dying to get going. It’s been a long time and I’ve got great motivation to help this club as much as possible and try to take them to the next level.”

McShane says he will give everything to the Dale cause during his time at the Crown Oil Arena.

“The supporters can expect me to give everything I’ve got. It’s just the way I’ve been playing the game my whole life.

“Brian is an up and coming manager and he wants to do things the right way. I want to be a part of something special in the future. He’s said I’ll enjoy the way they’re trying to go about things.

“He’s trying to play some really good football and trying to raise the professionalism around the place and that’s something I pride myself on, trying to be as professional as I can.”