AFTER A DISAPPOINTING season last year, Shamrock Rovers have begun the new campaign promisingly.

Trevor Croly’s side currently sit in fourth position in the Airtricity League this season, just two points off leaders Dundalk, having failed to launch a sustained title bid last year, ultimately finishing outside the European spots in fifth.

The difference, according to Eamon Zayed, can be put down to morale.

“There’s a much better team spirit than there was last season,” the Rovers star tells TheScore.ie. “I don’t know why last season it just wasn’t there. If you watched us on the pitch, you probably would have seen that. Whereas this season, you see us pushing until the end to get that equaliser or that winner, which is great.

“[The manager] has brought in a few younger players, which has a great positive effect on the rest of the squad. It was right to get that sort of mix of youth and experience.

“So the camp has been a lot happier this season and that will effect our football. We can obviously improve, but we’re in a decent position as regards points.”

Moreover, Zayed has worked hard to reach full fitness, having enjoyed his first proper pre-season since 2011.

“I went from Derry to a team in Iran, who were mid season. There was a problem with my contract in 2012. We should’ve got that done in June, but it didn’t get sorted until the end of July.

“Then I came back to Shamrock Rovers mid season and again, I never had that fitness base, so I was always playing catch-up. And I am a believer that if you don’t feel fit on the pitch, it does affect your football. You think your talent will get you by, but it only gets you so far. So I was struggling when I came to Shamrock Rovers last year as regards fitness, and that’s one of the reasons why I never got a run of games when I came in.

“This pre-season has gone well personally. I feel fitter and sharper than I have done for years, probably since I was at Drogheda United, because there was a big emphasis on physical conditioning there.”

Ciaran Kilduff Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

(Ciaran Kilduff’s good form means Zayed has sometimes had to be content with a place on the Rovers bench this season – INPHO/Donall Farmer)

And while Rovers have invariably performed well since the start of the season, the experience hasn’t been an entirely satisfying one for Zayed. The 30-year-old has been in and out of the team, with Croly usually preferring Ciaran Kilduff in the lone frontman role when they play a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation.

“We drew 0-0 with Derry [on the opening day] and we found it hard to break them down within that 4-4-2. So Trevor changed it to a 4-3-3 formation and we won the next few games comfortably enough and it went well. The formation’s not set in stone. Last weekend against Drogheda, we played two up top, and again I thought it worked well.

“The competition’s great, but it’s been frustrating to watch, as Ciaran’s been playing quite well.”

Furthermore, when Zayed did get his chance the other week, after scoring in the 3-2 defeat of Drogheda, he suffered a fractured elbow that will put him out of action for the next few weeks.

The injury means he is likely to miss at least one of Libya’s games in their upcoming African Nations Cup qualifiers — games that the star had been hoping to be involved in, especially as the last match in which he played was the heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Cameroon that ended the team’s hopes of 2014 World Cup qualification. Zayed’s side play their two-legged tie against Rwanda in May, and they will then go on to meet Namibia or Congo for a place in the tournament, provided they win their initial encounter.

Zayed qualifies for the country through his father, and despite the hassle of travelling long hours to join up with the team for matches, he still relishes the chance to compete on the international stage, and will be hoping to impress the side’s new coach, ex-Spain boss Javier Clemente, in the coming months.

“Football’s a short career and you have to make the most of it, and I think it’s an unbelievable experience getting to travel to these countries. I love it, and it’s something I’m proud of as well.

And at 30, Zayed is also beginning to think about life after this short career. The Rovers star has partially completed his coaching certs and as one of the more experienced players at the club, he has gradually found himself undertaking a leadership role and giving advice to the side’s “grounded” group of younger players.

“I’d be definitely geared more towards management than coaching,” he says. “I have a degree in Business and a Master’s in Finance. A good example [to aspire to] is Liam Buckley — when he went into Sporting Fingal, he liked to have a hand in everything, and was involved in not just the management side of things. I don’t know if he’s doing that at St Pat’s, but that is something I’d like to do — budget, promotions, marketing and everything else.

“From my experiences in Iran, going over to England and coming back twice, my experiences in Norway, playing with the Libyan national team, and just playing under different managers with different ideas. Going from Drogheda United, who went into administration to Sporting Fingal, who don’t exist anymore. I think I have a lot of experiences for managing a football team.”