McCann has the hunger to hunt for more medals
PATIENCE and perseverance, with a sprinkling of luck to go with his undoubted ability, has brought Chris McCann a good career in football.
And the 33-year-old believes opportunity has again knocked on his door as he looks to extend it for a year or two with Shamrock Rovers.
More importantly, having a medal or two more to show his children is definitely the aim.
A product of a talented Home Farm team of the early noughties, McCann watched enviously as team-mates got away to England or Scotland as he eagerly awaited his chance.
‘I wasn’t getting selected for a lot of things. I think I was one of the latest going away from that Home Farm team,’ said the midfielder ahead of tonight’s Premier Division clash with chief rivals Dundalk at Tallaght Stadium.
‘Darren O’Dea, Owen Garvan, Shane Supple — we were all in that team. Lads went to Celtic or Ipswich and you’re thinking it’s not going to happen for you.
‘But I kept on going, doing my
“You want to
win so you can show your kid”
own thing and, lucky enough, I got a break at Burnley. I had a lot of luck in the sense that there were a lot of injuries and I was next in line.
‘When you get that opportunity you have to take it and, lucky enough, I did and it spurred me on to make a 15 or 16-year career.
‘I was a bit unlucky a few times with the national team, and we all know what happened with the national team further on, but it is what it is and I was happy just playing for my club,’ he adds in reference to a senior Ireland cap that never materialised after a falling out with Don Givens at under-21 level.
In eight years at Burnley he won the Championship play-off, later briefly playing under current Celtic target Eddie Howe, who made him captain.
Then came a League One title at Wigan Athletic before a stint with Atlanta United in the US which brought an MLS Cup win.
‘When you get older, you look back on your career and it’s, “Oh, I only started winning things in my mid-20s”,’ reflects McCann on the draw of coming to Rovers. ‘When you have an opportunity to win something .... it’s like me having two kids now, when they get older you want to have something to show them, rather than playing your whole career with nothing to show for it.
‘My little lad is at an age where he loves football so to come here and win a trophy and for him to see that would be fantastic.
‘So that’s what it’s all about. At my age it would be fantastic.’
In what we’ve briefly seen of him to date in a Hoops shirt, McCann has brought quality technique and craft, and no little physicality, to their midfield.
‘He’s a big boy, but he’s so comfortable on the ball,’ said manager Stephen Bradley.
‘He’s very similar to Stephen (McPhail, Rovers’ director of football) in how he plays. A very clever, intelligent footballer.
‘He has a really high IQ. You can see him on the pitch, he is always thinking, looking at space where he can hurt teams.
‘I watched him and we knew straight away he was a player of real quality. He’s done really well.
‘We knew his pedigree, his past, but you have to see where he is and we knew he still had the quality.
‘Then when you sit down and speak to him. He still has that drive and hunger to be better.
‘His been really good in the group, like you would expect from someone who has played at the level he’s played at, had his career.
‘Really professional, goes about his business in the right way and he’s brought really good ideas with him.
‘He’s played under some good managers and we’ve had some good chats about how we do things.
‘It’s helped that he’s played our system before and played the type of football we play with similar ideas.
‘That’s helped him settle in quite quickly. He’s been excellent.’