FORMER IRELAND U21 interntional Jack Byrne has joined Shamrock Rovers.
A four-month spell in Scotland amounted to just five substitute appearances, and the 22-year-old is believed to have told manager Steve Clarke of his intention to leave in search of first-team opportunities elsewhere.
As exclusively revealed by The42 yesterday, Shamrock Rovers were keen on bringing the Dubliner home and he has today been announced as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division side’s latest acquisition.
Byrne with Rovers boss Stephen Bradley. Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers
“I’m absolutely buzzing to get it over and done with now,” Byrne said. “It’s been brewing for a few weeks and I’m buzzing to be here. I had a chat with Stephen Bradley a couple of weeks ago and it was something that I wanted to do and I felt really excited after speaking to the staff at the club and seeing the facilities that Rovers have.
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“I played a couple of times for Kilmarnock this year coming off the bench, it’s frustrating when you’re doing everything you can to get into a team. They were getting good results and it was hard to get a start. I took the decision to come home and it’s the best thing for me.
When the opportunity came to sign for Shamrock Rovers I snapped the hand off. I like to play in the middle and to be on the ball wherever that may be. We’ve spoken briefly about a position for me to play in and I think it suits both parties.
“The manager and his staff are building a strong squad and I’m very hungry to do well for the group. The League of Ireland is a very tough league; Dundalk and Cork in particular have been very strong over the past few seasons. My aim is to work hard and get into the team first and foremost. I want to help the team push on so that we can compete for trophies and I can’t wait to get going.”
Byrne will have plenty of competition for a place in Stephen Bradley’s team, as the Hoops recently signed Aaron McEneff from Derry City to add to midfielders such as Ronan Finn, Dylan Watts, Greg Bolger, Aaron Bolger, Brandon Miele and Brandon Kavanagh.
Bradley added: “It’s going to be a very good signing for us. Jack has an unbelievable amount of ability. He’s a player who had three or four offers in England and financially they were a lot more rewarding for Jack to go there. I think it shows what sort of mindset he has and the hunger he has to show people how good he is again. And remind people that he’s only 22, not in his late 30s, he’s a young man with a lot of ability.
“We’re delighted he’s seen the next step in his career here and he wants to settle down and play his football again. He did train with us before but that was just for Jack to keep fit during the period of the season that he was off. There were no discussions about signing back then. This time I got word that he was going to leave Kilmarnock and I knew he had offers in England.
“I just had to make contact and put our case to Jack and see if it fitted him. He’s come and had a look and I’m delighted he’s chosen here to play, to show everyone how good he is and the reason why he got called up to the Ireland squad a couple of years back. We believe that Jack has the ability to go and do that again.
He can do everything. He’s so creative; he sees the game very quickly and he’s a very clever footballer. He makes things happen in possession and he’ll add goals to our game by scoring and creating. I don’t think you can have too many of those in your team.
“It’s key that Jack can play in four or five different positions and he’s different to what we have right now in the team. He can play wide, behind the front man, as a team midfielder, anywhere in the attacking third of the pitch really. That area was something we wanted to strengthen.
“I’ve watched him all the way back in his Manchester City days, at Oldham, Holland and Ireland youths. He’s a top player, he just needs a platform, a stage to settle down and go back and enjoy his football. We believe that people will see the best of Jack in the next couple of years with us.”
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Andy Dunne preview a big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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Shamrock Rovers announce the arrival of former Man City youngster Jack Byrne
FORMER IRELAND U21 interntional Jack Byrne has joined Shamrock Rovers.
A four-month spell in Scotland amounted to just five substitute appearances, and the 22-year-old is believed to have told manager Steve Clarke of his intention to leave in search of first-team opportunities elsewhere.
As exclusively revealed by The42 yesterday, Shamrock Rovers were keen on bringing the Dubliner home and he has today been announced as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division side’s latest acquisition.
“I’m absolutely buzzing to get it over and done with now,” Byrne said. “It’s been brewing for a few weeks and I’m buzzing to be here. I had a chat with Stephen Bradley a couple of weeks ago and it was something that I wanted to do and I felt really excited after speaking to the staff at the club and seeing the facilities that Rovers have.
“I played a couple of times for Kilmarnock this year coming off the bench, it’s frustrating when you’re doing everything you can to get into a team. They were getting good results and it was hard to get a start. I took the decision to come home and it’s the best thing for me.
“The manager and his staff are building a strong squad and I’m very hungry to do well for the group. The League of Ireland is a very tough league; Dundalk and Cork in particular have been very strong over the past few seasons. My aim is to work hard and get into the team first and foremost. I want to help the team push on so that we can compete for trophies and I can’t wait to get going.”
Byrne will have plenty of competition for a place in Stephen Bradley’s team, as the Hoops recently signed Aaron McEneff from Derry City to add to midfielders such as Ronan Finn, Dylan Watts, Greg Bolger, Aaron Bolger, Brandon Miele and Brandon Kavanagh.
Bradley added: “It’s going to be a very good signing for us. Jack has an unbelievable amount of ability. He’s a player who had three or four offers in England and financially they were a lot more rewarding for Jack to go there. I think it shows what sort of mindset he has and the hunger he has to show people how good he is again. And remind people that he’s only 22, not in his late 30s, he’s a young man with a lot of ability.
“We’re delighted he’s seen the next step in his career here and he wants to settle down and play his football again. He did train with us before but that was just for Jack to keep fit during the period of the season that he was off. There were no discussions about signing back then. This time I got word that he was going to leave Kilmarnock and I knew he had offers in England.
“I just had to make contact and put our case to Jack and see if it fitted him. He’s come and had a look and I’m delighted he’s chosen here to play, to show everyone how good he is and the reason why he got called up to the Ireland squad a couple of years back. We believe that Jack has the ability to go and do that again.
“It’s key that Jack can play in four or five different positions and he’s different to what we have right now in the team. He can play wide, behind the front man, as a team midfielder, anywhere in the attacking third of the pitch really. That area was something we wanted to strengthen.
“I’ve watched him all the way back in his Manchester City days, at Oldham, Holland and Ireland youths. He’s a top player, he just needs a platform, a stage to settle down and go back and enjoy his football. We believe that people will see the best of Jack in the next couple of years with us.”
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Andy Dunne preview a big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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CONFIRMED Jack Byrne latest arrival League of Ireland LOI Kilmarnock Shamrock Rovers