Shane Blaney signs for Rovers
SLIGO Rovers have further bolstered their defensive ranks with the capture of Shane Blaney.
Blaney, 21, signed for the Bit O’Red this week after several months out of professional football following his release from Doncaster Rovers during the summer.
Blaney had been captain of Doncaster’s U-23 side which was disbanded at the end of last season, leading to his departure from the English League One side.
He is a native of Letterkenny and had originally come to Doncaster’s attention as a 17-yearold with Finn Harps.
He also has ties to Rovers through two family members – Eunan ‘Busty’ Blake, a defender who starred for the club in the 1950s and 1960s as well as Brendan Byrne, a well-known stalwart who volunteered at The Showgrounds for decades. On signing for Rovers, Blaney said: “I’m delighted. This has been ongoing for the last few weeks. I’ve been speaking with Liam (Buckley) for that period and it seems like the perfect fit for me. It was a great experience at Doncaster.”
“I’m absolutely dying to get going. Liam actually made contact in July but I wanted to stay in England as I had a few things going on there. With Covid-19, teams weren’t taking on players on trial and six weeks ago I made the decision to come home. I had a few offers in Ireland and calls, but Liam was the first meeting and since that I knew I wanted to sign for Sligo.” Meanwhile, manager Liam Buckley said: “Shane is a really good addition to us. He comes strongly recommended and is looking to make an impression here.”
“He has lots of attributes to be a good defender for us and he’s really eager to get going as we all are now. We’re waiting on the schedule to finalise all of the details of pre-season.”