PATIENT JON GETS GAELIC BOOST
WITH the season now in full swing, Jonathan Douglas could reasonably have expected to be right in the thick of the action.
That hasn’t happened just yet but, thanks to Gaelic football training keeping him in trim, the 35-year-old free-agent midfielder – released by Ipswich at the end of last season – is still confident of a Football League return.
Douglas made 23 appearances in all competitions last term but, come the end of the campaign, he was one of a host of experienced campaigners released by the Tractor Boys.
The former Republic of Ireland international has yet to find a new club, but the enforced sabbatical has allowed him the chance to spend quality time with both his eight-yearold daughter Raenna and friends in his home town of Clones.
And, during his regular trips back across the Irish Sea, he has dipped his toe into another sporting obsession.
“I still keep an eye on the Ireland football team, but when I spend time at home I love watching the Gaelic football team in Clones,” explained Douglas. I’ve done a few sessions with them, just to change it up.
“Those boys are mental! It’s only amateur but they train like dogs. They’re animals.
“Some of my mates play and I’ve never really had the chance over the years to be involved until now.
“I’m open to getting back into football and I’m not naive enough or big-headed enough to say, ‘I only want to go to the Championship or League One’.
“You’ve just got to go where you feel happiest, and that’s what I’m looking for.”
Douglas, who played 16 times for Blackburn in the Premier League back in the mid-2000s, admits he expected to be turning out for a new club by now.
Returning to the pitch still remains at the forefront of the former Brentford and Leeds captain’s mind. But, as an experienced professional, he knows patience is the most important of virtues at present.
“I thought I would have found a club by now. I had things lined up and, for one reason or another, they fell through,” said Douglas. “It’s about keeping yourself fit and waiting for the phone call.
“That’s football. You think you’re sorted, but until you’ve actually signed something, there’s nothing guaranteed.
“I’ve been in the game since I was 17 – that’s nearly 20 years – so you have a lot of contacts, a lot of lads you’ve played with or against over the years that are in management or coaching roles.
Chasing
“I’ve been speaking to them and seeing if there’s anything available.
“It has to be the right move. I’m pretty settled in London, so I don’t want to be chasing up and down the country.”
Douglas says he holds no ill feeling towards Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy, who explained to him in February there would be no new deal at the end of last season.
And, while younger players might have their confidence shaken at being out of work, the veteran’s two decades of experience in the professional game are keeping him on an even keel.
“I think it would be a lot different if I was 25 or 26. If you’re that age, maybe you can’t take a knock,” Douglas added.
“But the fact I’m 35 means I can deal with it. I know, eventually, something will come up.”