‘Great to be still in touch for honours after sloppy spell’
HE may have been kicking his heels on the subs bench for the past few weeks, but Kealan Dillon insists he has no complaints about a lack of game time since joining Drogheda United.
The 24-year-old midfielder hasn’t started a league game since March, so he was more than happy to come on and play 65 minutes against Wexford after Jake Hyland was forced off with a bulging eye after a clash of heads with Danny Doyle.
‘Jake took a knock to the head, but he’s had it checked out and feeling good, so obviously I’m glad he’s alright,’ said the Athboy native.
‘I got on a bit earlier than I expected, but you always have to stay ready, make sure you’re feeling strong, work hard and take your chance when it comes.
‘The boys are flying and we’ve got a lot of midfielders, a lot of good players. We’ve a couple of young lads as well. Young Will [Hondermarck] came on there tonight to make his debut and hopefully will feel part. We’ve Eoin McPhillips as well coming through and plenty of lads with a lot of experience.
‘I was in earlier on in the season and it’s about biding your time and being ready to come in whenever Tim calls upon you.’
Given both men’s Meath roots, it’s not surprising to hear that Dillon and Clancy were already familiar with each other prior to the player signing from Longford Town this year.
He said: ‘I’ve known Tim for a while. He’s from Trim, so I would have been involved in the NEC as well growing up, and when I heard he got the job I got on to himself. He was looking for a few players and I came in pre-season and worked under him.
‘We were both happy with how things were going, got the deal done and I’m glad to be here.’
Dillon said he has been impressed with how the young manager has handled things in his rookie season.
‘It was never going to be easy for him coming in to his first job. Obviously Ob he’s got Dave Robertson there helping him out and Kev [Doherty] is experienced. He’s managed in the league and been an assistant with a couple of teams as well.
‘Tim’s been a player as well and knows all about the league - he’s had his couple of years here and it’s a great start for him.
‘It’s a good club to get his first job at. The lads have really backed him, we’re all enjoying the training and enjoying how things are going so far.’
Dillon acknowledged that the Drogs haven’t been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, but pointed out that even the socalled weaker teams are posing a bigger challenge as the season progresses.
‘It’s great to get the win,’ he admitted. ‘We’ve been sloppy, maybe, for the last couple of weeks, but it’s good to get a good result and a clean sheet and keep in touch in the league.
‘I don’t think it’s anything to do with complacency. We started off great this season and really hit the ground flying, so we set very high standards and maybe haven’t reached that in the past few weeks.
‘But Athlone have improved compared to last time, and with Wexford it was 8-1 down there last time and they’ve come on leaps and bounds as well and will only get stronger as the year goes on.’
Asked abot Drogheda’s next test - away to Galway United this Friday - Dillon responded: ‘They’re all huge games. There’s six or seven teams up there who feel they have a chance of winning it, if not at least getting to the play-offs.
‘We’ll just keep going the way we’re going, work hard and we’ll see where it takes us.’
And in terms of individual goals, Dillon just wants to make sure he plays a significant part in Drogheda’s league campaign, however it pans out.
‘For me it’s about trying to stay fit, play as many games as possible, win as many games as we can and finish as high up the table as we possibly can.
‘I think, as long as we reach our potential, nobody can be too disappointed with how the season’s gone.’