Dan’s Well up for a battle to beat the drop
Dan Casey left an American dream and walked straight into a Motherwell nightmare.
But, after a devastating debut, the Irish centre-half says Fir Park spirits are on the up and he’s hellbent on helping his new club avoid the drop.
Casey played in California for Sacramento Republic in the USA’s second tier but the 25-year-old turned his back on potential moves to the MLS to join Well a fortnight ago.
His first start was in the Scottish Cup defeat by Raith Rovers which saw boss Stevie Hammell sacked.
And Casey said: “I had phone calls with Stevie, we got on well, he played a big role in getting me here.
“I liked the opportunity and thought it was the next step in my career, that’s why it was quite sad to see him go.
“As players, we all felt we let him and the fans down through our performance.
“It’s tough but football is a game where you need to keep going. You can’t stop because it doesn’t stop for anyone.
“It can be a brutal sport but we just need to do what we can for the club now to kick on.”
After just one game, Casey was on to a new gaffer as interim boss Stuart Kettlewell steered the Steelmen to a 2-1 win over St Mirren.
Now it’s Hearts at home today and Casey says Well must ensure that midweek success marks a major turning point in their fortunes.
Casey, one of eight January arrivals, said: “When you come in to a new club it’s never easy anyway.
“But when they’re going through a tough run you have to try to dig out a result.
“Wednesday couldn’t have gone better because we had to fight for the win and that will give us confidence going into playing Hearts. We must
push on now. St Mirren was only one game.
“I’ve only been here a couple of weeks but can see everyone’s mood has been lifted and everyone feels better.
“I’ve not been in a relegation battle before. There are a good few senior pros that will help us get through this. I feel we’ve enough quality in the squad.
“Hearts are a great club who have been flying this year and are on good form.
“But we need to get ourselves on a run and get ourselves out of the relegation fight.”
Casey helped Sacramento star on a US Open Cup run, knocking out three MLS sides before eventually losing the final to Orlando.
His stay in the States was pleasing but the Dubliner craved being closer to home.
He said: “We’d a good team and I really enjoyed it but I just felt like it was right to come back towards home.
“I loved the lifestyle but wanted a change. Everything is brilliant over there, they have great facilities and it’s all very happy.
“But I missed the really competitive edge to my football. I wanted something different.
“I was standing out over there for being too aggressive. Closer to home I maybe fit in a bit more!”