Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
We’re like a band of brothers and that togetherness is what we will need if we are going to survive at this level
JOHN BOYLE reckons his backstory in the game means he was tailor-made for Newry City.
The 32-year-old defender, a firefighter by trade, is not someone who is easily cowed, so the challenge facing the Danske Bank Premiership new boys is one he’s relishing.
Prior to his switch to Newry in January last year, he spent the entirety of his career at neighbours Warrenpoint, joining at the age of five and eventually rising to the rank of first team captain.
He was an integral part of the squad who, under Barry Gray, defied the odds to become the smallest club in the history of the Irish League to secure Senior football.
So being an underdog doesn’t faze him – in fact, it’s pretty much all he’s ever known.
Just like it was for the Point six years ago when they first joined the Irish League elite, keeping Newry in the top flight is a daunting proposition.
But far from being overawed, Boyle insists his team can use that sense of adversity to inspire and galvanise them.
“Towards the end of my time at Warrenpoint was tough so coming here has been a blessing in disguise because I’ve really enjoyed it and had success,” said Boyle, who left Milltown after 25 years with the club.
“I’ve been fortunate enough at Warrenpoint and Newry with quite a few promotions and they have similar stories, coming from a low level right up, so that whole journey has been a high for me, it’s something I’m proud of, and I’ve been fortunate enough that I haven’t had too many lows.
“Looking retrospectively, I would say I have maybe overachieved, because with Warrenpoint and Newry, you were always written off but we kept getting promoted.
“And to see the local people and what it means to them is great because it is people that you know, and to see the smiles on their faces whenever you do something...”
Newry’s rags-to-riches story is well-known now of course. They celebrated their centenary last month, but it’s been a turbulent 100 years, the undoubted nadir of which came in 2012 when the club was wound up.
Their rise from the ashes of financial oblivion since has been one of the most uplifting football stories of recent times, and romantic too in how it was achieved with a hardcore of homegrown players who have dragged the club from the Mid Ulster League all the way to the Premiership.
With 12 losses from their opening 19 league games, it’s been a baptism of fire back in the big time, but Boyle believes the inexperienced players in the squad are now coming to terms with the division after the initial culture shock.
“There’s a few of us who have played here before so we were under no illusions in terms of how difficult it was going to be, we knew there were going to be spells like we had in October where you’re going to have hard luck stories and things aren’t going to go your way,” said Boyle. “It’s
probably been harder for the boys who haven’t been used to it but they are adapting really well.
“Three years ago, a lot of them were playing in the Mid Ulster, and no disrespect but it’s a quare jump in two or three years. They haven’t had time to settle into any of the leagues, they kept on getting promoted, so it’s taken a wee bit of time for them to get used to the mentality that you have to move on quickly from the defeats to the next game and I think that has been a learning curve for them.
“You have to keep working hard and the moment you give up on the principles that got us here, you’ll be beat, so it’s just getting that message across to the boys who aren’t used to losing two or three in a row.”
Speaking to Match On Tuesday last month, Newry goalkeeper Andy Coleman, who only switched to his hometown club over the summer, spoke of the extraordinary camaraderie at the Showgrounds, and Boyle, who will be with the club two years this January, agrees it is a special place to be.
Indeed for a top flight team, it is particularly close-knit, perhaps uniquely so in the Premiership.
There are three sets of brothers at the club – first team stars Mark and Stephen Hughes (both above), Darren (circled) and Neil Mullen, the former the manager and the latter the elder statesman of the squad at 34, and Boyle and his brother Gary, the first team coach. Defender Conor Mccaul is a cousin of the Mullens, meanwhile, as is Jervis Mccaul, who is also on the coaching staff, while Darren King and Paddy Mooney are also cousins, and Decky Carville and Jimmy Walker work colleagues.
When the chips are down and you need to dig deep – as has been the case in a lot of games for the border men so far this season – who better to have alongside you in the trenches than your own kith and kin?
“I think that is key at the moment to establishing ourselves,” said Boyle, who smiles when it’s highlighted he is still joint leading goalscorer for the club with two goals.
“There are no hidden agendas, there is nobody doing it for the wrong reasons, everyone is there because they want to play and they probably could have got better offers at other clubs.
“But everyone’s there for the right reason and I think that is a good starting point.
“And everyone is determined to do well for the club – a lot of the boys are local and have seen the club develop and they don’t want to see their hard work wasted after a year.
“So I think that is key to it, the bond we have.
“There’s brothers, there’s cousins, there are quite a few relations and stuff, and boys who work with each other so the bond is there and
hopefully that will get us over the line when it comes into the months where’s it’s not about pretty football.”
It’s been a topsy-turvy season so far for Newry who began the campaign impressively, particularly at home where they lost just once in their first seven in all competitions, only to hit the skids in October and early November when they crashed to seven defeats in eight.
But things have picked up again recently, with Mullen’s men looking much more competitive over the last four weeks, registering wins at Coleraine and at home to Ards, and another point on the road at Dungannon on Saturday, with a narrow 2-1 loss to rampant league leaders Ballymena United sandwiched in between.
Boyle believes performances have been pretty consistent throughout despite the fluctuating results, but reckons the big difference is in how the players new to this level have grown in stature.
He feels they are now acclimatising to the top flight, and with that comes the ability to eke out points even when the game gets ugly.
“To be honest, in the couple of wins that we’ve had, we probably played better when we were getting beat in October,” said Boyle.
“So the performances I don’t think have changed drastically. People are asking what have we done differently, but to be honest we haven’t done anything differently.
“I think if you were to ask anyone honestly, the two wins were more about grinding it out than playing attractive football.
“I suppose it’s coming into that time where the pretty football at times goes out the window, and especially with where we are at the minute.
“It doesn’t really matter how you get the points, you just have got to keep them.
“The pats on the back and saying we are a nice wee team, the novelty of that has worn off for the boys.
“If we have to grind it out then that’s what we have to do.”