Paisley can prime me for Premier, says Ronan
LOANS departments are a growth industry in elite football where a manager or team of employees is required to place and monitor fringe players cast far and wide.
At Wolves, the job is ‘Strategic Player Marketing Manager’. To be fair to Matt Jackson, a fancy title is merited for attempting to satisfy Connor Ronan’s wanderlust alone — never mind the 18 others farmed out from Molineux.
The St Mirren midfielder has enjoyed stints in Slovakia and Switzerland, with spells at Portsmouth, Walsall and Blackpool in between.
As enriching and educational those experiences have been for Ronan, he hopes the sixth time away will be his last.
Paisley, the cinch Premiership and a season under Jim Goodwin, he feels, could prime him for playing among the Portuguese superstar colony next year.
Ronan said: ‘I’ve picked up different things from all my loans, including winning a league with Grasshoppers.
‘Coming into this, I’ve felt more of a complete player. I got straight in the St Mirren team, which was good coming back from a foot injury.
‘It’s always tough as a young Premier League player with the vision the owners have, the standard of player and money.
‘But the endgame of loans is do well then go back and work my way into the first team.
‘That hasn’t happened yet — but still I’m hoping it will. I’ve two-and-a-half years left, so that remains my goal.
‘All I’m hoping for, really, is a chance. Try to catch the manager’s eye, given the opportunity to train, maybe play pre-season games.
‘Analysts and even physios get in touch weekly, to check on you. That keeps your mindset positive, knowing you’re not forgotten.’
Ronan settled well at Saints, scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Aberdeen and dovetailing well with Jamie McGrath.
The intensity of Scotland shouldn’t pose problems as the 23-year-old was a marked man in Slovakia during a fascinating 2019 with Dunajska Streda.
He explained: ‘They saw themselves as a Hungarian club playing in the Slovakian league.
‘There’s a rivalry between the countries. So every week seemed like a derby to me.
‘Slovakia opened my eyes to going abroad. You think you need to go to better yourself.’