SHAMROCK ROVERS ARE 4-0 down going into the second leg of their Europa League play-off with PAOK tonight.
The league phase of the Uefa Conference League beckons unless they pull of an historic comeback.
Jack Byrne has a straightforward way of looking at it. “It’s just a game of football, you just have to, you never go out on any pitch and think the game is over, the tie is lost. You still want to win the game that is in front of you,” he says.
A few days later, at 11.30 on Sunday morning, Rovers will be back in domestic action when they face Bohemians in a Dublin derby at Dalymount Park.
A Coldplay gig a few kilomotres down the road in Croke Park later that evening means Garda resources are stretched.
The kick-off time is unique.
“Not since probably St Kevin’s in the DDSL. I might sleep it out,” Byrne says with a laugh.
There are certain things you realise are not worth letting affect you when you’ve been through tougher times. Regular sessions with the club pyscologist has helped Byrne learn that. “She’s been unbelievable, she’s been invaluable, especially with myself coming back from injury and dealing with that side of the game, it was obviously new for me, being out for such a long time.”
It is a maturity that manager Stephen Bradley has also witnessed up close as they sought to manage his comeback from back, knee and calf injuries over the last year.
“We also need to recognise and understand that he’s been out for over a year with a serious back and knee problem,” the Hoops boss said.
“They were not straightforward procedures either. As you get older your body changes and takes longer to get back to your levels and that’s only normal. Jack is slightly frustrated as he wants to be back there now to those levels but it takes time and it takes minutes on the pitch.
“I think a young Jack coming back from Kilmarnock could be a different conversation and more difficult to manage in terms of where he would be in his head, but he’s a lot more mature now. He’s been so easy to deal with and he understands what it’s going to take to get where he wants to get back to but he understands it’s going to take time as well.
“You’re not 20 where you can just recover overnight, especially the type he is with twisting and turning, there’s a lot of that in his game. A lot of it is seeing things quickly with quick vision and that takes time to come back to you. But the pleasing aspect is he’s in the right frame of mind for that to happen. It’s not as if you’re fighting his attitude or his head or anything like that, it’s all there. It’s about being patient.”
Rovers have 10 Premier Division games remaining and a minimum of six more should they end up in the Uefa Conference League between 3 October and 19 December.
“It prolongs my season having missed the first few months of it. It’s a real plus for me. I don’t necessarily need much more time off,” he said with a smile.
Byrne became an Ireland international during his first stint in the League of Ireland with Rovers and also became the first domestic-based player to make an appearance in a competitive game since 1985 whe Stephen Kenny brought him off the bench in the Nations League game against Wales in 2020.
He was back-to-back PFAI Ireland Player of the Year – awarded by his peers – in 2019 and ’20, and returning to those levels is the aim, as is getting back to terms with demands of how he wants to play that.
“You have to believe that as a footballer. I look around and I believe that, on my day, I’m still one of the best players in the league and one of the best players in the country.
“But there is no point in talking about it, you need to produce it. I think I’ve had one 90 minutes since I’ve been back in a couple of months. Maybe it’s a bit unfair on myself to expect to be at those levels when you haven’t played that much football.
“But in your mind you do expect that when you go out onto the pitch. You expect the best version of Jack Byrne to be on the pitch. But it takes time to get there.
“It’s just about getting used to being back on the pitch, being around bodies, tackling, all that kind of stuff. Getting shots away, getting crosses away, that’s my game. Twisting and turning. It’s been a plus for me over the last couple of weeks.
“I’m not stupid, I know that, I understand that. It’s not just going to flick on overnight, it’s going to take work, it’s going to take probably a big moment in a game where you think ‘Right, I’m back’. So I’m searching for that moment.
“I’m at my best when I’m knocking the games off and I’m in my rhythm. I can be creative and I can take risks and I’m not chasing. It just comes naturally.”
The next few months have the potential to provide us all with a reminder of who Jack Byrne is.
