ONE-ON-ONE
Paddy’s lived the Irish dream
The NLP’s Russ Penn catches up with Hartlepool United new boy Paddy McLaughlin
StoCthe full in achieving ince coming over from Northern Ireland at the tender age of 16, Paddy McLaughlin has lived life his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
Here, I catch up with the Hartlepool United new boy to discuss his early days at Newcastle and his somewhat unorthodox preparation for the biggest game of his career...
PADDY, A MOVE DOWN THE ROAD TO HARTLEPOOL THIS SUMMER. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT?
I had a great three years at Gateshead, but I felt this summer that it was probably the right time for a fresh start and a new challenge. I had conversations with a number of managers and received some really appealing offers, but when it came down to it I felt that Hartlepool was the right place for me to continue my career. When I played here for Gateshead on New Year’s Day I remember enjoying the game and atmosphere and thinking that this would be somewhere I’d enjoy playing my football, so I was delighted to make it happen this summer.
YOURSELF, ANDREW DAVIES, LIAM NOBLE AND LUKE JAMES ARE GREAT ACQUISITIONS TO THE SQUAD! YOU MUST BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SEASON AHEAD?
I am really looking forward to getting the season started. There are some big clubs in the division this season and I feel it will be a very competitive league but, as you say, I think the club has recruited well and hopefully we can gel together quickly and be challenging at the right end of the table.
YOU CAME OVER FROM NORTHERN IRELAND AT THE AGE OF 16. HOW TOUGH WAS THAT?
To be honest, I don’t think I realised what a big thing that was until recent years. Sixteen is such a young age to leave your friends and family behind and move to a different country, but at the time I was just buzzing to be doing the only thing I have ever dreamed of doing for a living. I come from a really close family so naturally there were times when I missed home, but I was lucky enough to have a great ‘digs family’ who made me feel at home and I still keep in regular contact with them now. Of course, my family visit as much as possible, which is always nice.
DOING YOUR APPRENTICESHIP AT NEWCASTLE MUST HAVE BEEN A GREAT WAY TO START YOUR TRADE. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?
It was a brilliant introduction into professional football – everything from the facilities to the kit was first class. I spent four years there and loved every minute. The only disappointment was that I wasn’t able to take that final step and play for the first team, but I had some quality midfield players with bags of experience ahead of me in the pecking order such as Nicky Butt, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton. I was fortunate enough to train with the first team regularly in my last couple of seasons there and that gave me an insight into how top players conduct themselves on a day-to-day basis.
YOU’VE BEEN EVER PRESENT AT ALL THE CLUBS YOU’VE BEEN AT BUT WHERE WAS YOUR BEST SPELL TO DATE?
Certainly in terms of goals scored and trophies won, it would have to be the double-winning season of 2011-12 with York City. It was my debut season in senior football and I scored 13 goals that year as we won the FA Trophy at Wembley and followed it up eight days later by beating Luton Town in the play-off Final, again at Wembley. It was an incredible time and a period in my career I will never forget.
YOU GOT MARRIED THIS SUMMER. BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN IS A GREAT WOMAN! DO YOU BELIEVE IN THIS QUOTE?
Ha ha, you certainly should. My wife gets it easy, she comes home from work every night to a tidy house and her tea on the table, but being a big shot solicitor means that she’s my pension fund for when my legs give up, so I’ve got to look after her for when the tables turn.
BIGGEST REGRET IN FOOTBALL?
I wouldn’t say I have any regrets in my career as such. However, I did turn down the opportunity to go and play in the Swedish top flight when I left Newcastle and I sometimes wonder what that would have been like. I have always had a desire to play abroad at some stage in my career and it was something I thought long and hard about before deciding to pursue other avenues in England. If I had gone there I’d never have experienced what I did at York, so its definitely not a regret!
I’m really interested in the science behind football and am entering the final year of a sport and exercise science degree, so hopefully I can use this to stay involved in football when
I finish playing. I also intend to do my coaching badges but at this stage it is definitely the sports science side of things which appeals to me more.
BEST FOOTBALL TALE?
We trained on the Saturday morning the day before the 2012 play-off final and after lunch the gaffer [Gary Mills] told us to meet back in the hotel reception to go for a walk. So we’re walking through this park on a lovely spring day and come across a pub. The gaffer then told us that we were all going in for a pint and proceeded to get the round in! So you’ve got all the lads sitting in this beer garden in the sun having a pint the day before the biggest game of the season. He then shouts over “Geebo (assistant manager Darren Gee) the lads want crisps, go and get some crisps!” and Geebo comes back from the bar with 20-odd bags of Walkers in his arms! I was 21 at the time and hadn’t seen anything like it in football, but I suppose it was all just a way of helping everyone to relax. It must have worked because we won 2-1 the next day.