BOHEMIANS: NO COUNTRY for old men.

At 30, Keith Ward is now the senior figure in the dressing room, and on the recent European away trips to face Stjarnan of Iceland and Dudelange of Luxembourg, found himself rooming with 16-year-old Jamie Mullins. 

“Jesus, I was tormenting the poor young fella for a few days”, laughs Ward. “No, it was good. Colouring in and all, we were. I definitely feel it. I felt old after the game on Sunday as well. It’s a young team. As the oldest now, it’s scary.”

Mullins became Bohs’ youngest-ever goalscorer with his league goal against Longford Town, days after making his European debut at the Aviva Stadium in the second leg victory against Stjarnan.

Mullins is one of a plethora of academy prospects breaking into Keith Long’s first team at the moment. 18-year-old Aaron Doran and 17-year-old Sean Grehan made their debuts against Corinthians in the FAI Cup last weekend – Doran scored – while another 18-year-old, Robbie Mahon, played the full game having made three appearances earlier this season. 

Meanwhile, Dawson Devoy is only 19 and Ross Tierney is 20, but both have played 22 and 23 games respectively so far this season. Defender Andy Lyons is only 20 but has been a first-team regular for nearly three years and is now in charge of collecting the dressing room fines.

“I see them coming through and Keith [Long] is like, ‘Look after them, make them feel comfortable’”, says Ward. “He’s saying for me to give them advice, but I’m looking to them for advice! They are better than me.

“I am looking at Jamie in training and matches going, ‘Can I do that?’. There is some quality coming through. You don’t want to put too much pressure on them or anything like that – Dawson, Ross or even Jamie at 16. You look at the young lads the other day – Aaron Doran scoring, Sean [Grehan] coming in centre-half, Robbie Mahon, lads Detser [Derek Pender] has had at U17 level – I used to watch them a bit, and now you see them coming through and they are well able. They have been around us long enough in training, so I was delighted to get out and play a game with them as well.”

Conor Levingston described Devoy as “so laidback he’s horizontal” last week, and Ward attests to the youngsters’ confidence. 

“I remember coming through at UCD with Conor Kenna, Ally McNally, Matt Gregg, and I wouldn’t say boo. These lads just stroll in and high-five you and all. It’s mad. But that’s a culture change, and Instagram and it’s all different now. But there is definitely a bit of fearlessness from them coming through. To be fair, the young lads coming through are great. They are down to earth, good lads, great around the place.

“It’s brilliant for the dressing room, young lads coming in like that. It’s massive for the team, just coming in playing, it’s effortless for them. I think that’s a great thing for the team.” 

That fearlessness is a good thing on the pitch, says Ward. 

“Absolutely. As you get older you think about the game more, and I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. We’re looking at clips of players that you’re trying to suss out but if you’re 18, you don’t give a fuck and just go out and play. That suits the young lads better. Sometimes it suits them not to think about it or overthink it.

Dawson Devoy in action against Stjarnan in the previous round. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“As you get older, you have more responsibility to look after the younger players and to see out results and give out that good information. You have an important role but as young lads, you just turn up with your boots and play and go home. You don’t overthink it. I can’t speak for other players but that’s something I experienced as an older player.” 

That said, Ward does occasionally have to crack the whip. “I remember last year, Rossy [Tierney] coming in late, and you had to have a go at him. It’s not personal or anything. You kind of have to keep them on the ground, so the standards don’t drop.

“As much as you don’t want to, you kind of have to. And it has to be player-driven too. It can’t be the coach or the captain giving out. It’s something as you get older that you realise you have to do. It’s not personal. You are only giving out to someone because you want what’s best for them.” 

Bohs return to the Aviva Stadium tomorrow for the second leg of their Europa Conference qualifying round tie with Dudelange of Luxembourg, leading 1-0 from the first leg. (Unsurprisingly, the goal was orchestrated by Devoy and scored by Tierney.)

Ward is looking forward to the return: the 3-0 first qualifying round win over Stjarnan at Dublin 4 was his first appearance at the national stadium. 

“Me and Detser were in the Aviva two weeks ago training and I think I’ve lost five semi-finals and Detser has lost seven. It’s been tough over the years as everyone wants to play in the Aviva because it’s a great day out.

“It took me 30 years to get my first day out and I see Jamie Mullins at 16 and I’m like ‘you don’t know how lucky you are’. You look at Detser, part of the staff and never got to play there. Especially being at Bohs now five years and where you’ve come from. You appreciate it more and it means a lot to me to be playing for Bohs in the Aviva because you’re there long enough and know how hard it was. To get that day out two weeks ago meant a lot to me and lads at the club like Bucko, Detser, Keith and the fans to have a day out like that.

“Thursday will be a tough game despite coming away with a great 1-0 result. I think we can play a lot better as I don’t think we played to the standards even though we came away with the win. They will come away thinking they are in the tie as the second-half they had us pinned in for the last 20 minutes. They will know they can put it up to us to get a result but I still think we have a lot to show them as we didn’t play as well as we can.”