The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fitness pays off for Brennan
Raith Rovers keeper’s reward for staying in shape
New Raith signing Conor Brennan has revealed he kept fit during the summer with the help of a personal trainer – his partner Heather Paterson.
The 21-year-old keeper found himself without a club in May when a new deal at Kilmarnock was taken off the table.
Brennan was determined to keep in top shape so he would be up to speed if a new side tried to secure his services.
That call finally came last week when Rovers boss Gary Locke sent out an ‘SOS’ over a keeper crisis, with Kevin Cuthbert and Aaron Lennox both out injured.
Brennan was delighted to rush to the rescue and made an early-morning dash from England to meet his new team-mates, before being thrown in at the deep end against Dundee United on Saturday.
Now, he will be back between the sticks today as Raith travel to Forfar for an Irn-Bru cup tie.
Brennan said: “My partner is a personal trainer and has just moved gym. Heather is trying to get as much new clientele as she can.
“She helped me keep ticking over in the summer – to be fair, she is in better shape than me! Heather put wee things together to help me keep fit. She kept me on my toes with my diet and other things like that.
“I had gone through a hard spell for a couple of months waiting on the phone ringing, but it hadn’t.
“During that time, I had been keeping myself fit and in shape so that if it did ring I was ready to go – and that’s the perfect example, being put straight in against Dundee United. You have to be ready.
He added: “The move to Raith happened quite quickly.
“I had been down in Manchester over the last couple of months trying to get myself sorted with a club.
“But the gaffer got in touch last Wednesday saying they needed a keeper for Saturday.
“We had sort of agreed something and he rang me at quarter to nine on Wednesday night asking if I could get up for training the following morning.
“I was looking at the clock and thinking, ‘It is quarter to nine, gaffer’.
“I was looking at a long drive from Manchester, so it was a case of getting up at five in the morning to come up to Glenrothes.
“I met all the boys, trained Thursday and got everything signed.
“There was a wee bit of a delay with the clearance coming through, but it arrived on Saturday morning so I was ready to go in the afternoon. “I am signed until January. “Obviously the gaffer knew me from my time at Kilmarnock.
“It all happened very quickly but, looking forward, we now have three keepers at the club. I have the jersey at the moment but it is up to me to work hard to stay in the team.
“Aaron Lennox and Kevin Cuthbert are two very good goalkeepers, so the gaffer will be spoiled for choice when everyone is fit.”
Brennan’s career began at Leicester and he revealed he is still friends with one of last season’s Premier Leaguewinning heroes.
He said: “I was at Leicester for three years.
“I left home when I was 16 and signed a two-year scholarship with Leicester, playing youth team with the academy.
“I then signed for a year pro but I didn’t really get as much game time as I would have liked to for the under-21s at that time.
“Martyn Waghorn was there at the same time as me as well as Joe Dodoo, who has also just signed for Rangers.
“I am also still friendly with Kasper Schmeichel, who has obviously just won the Premier League.
“I always kept in touch with him and met up with him just the other week.
“We used to train together at the club. It was a good experience at Leicester and I picked up a lot from him.
“Leicester are on top of the world at the minute. I think even the players themselves didn’t see it coming.
“It just shows that in football you can do anything if you put your mind to it…”