A NEW EPISODE of The Football Family podcast — a collection of longform interviews with Irish footballers of past and present — is now available to The42 members.
Our guest on Episode 13 is Patrick Cregg, who has been working as assistant manager at St Patrick’s Athletic since September following Stephen O’Donnell’s appointment as boss.
Patrick Cregg playing for Arsenal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2004. EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
The pair were together as teenagers at Arsenal, where Cregg managed to make a first-team breakthrough under Arsene Wenger in 2004, when the Gunners were Premier League champions on the back of their ‘Invincibles’ campaign.
The midfielder from Dublin made three League Cup appearances, one of which came as an 18-year-old in a quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Advertisement
“A very calm man, from the experience I would’ve had with him,” he said of Wenger. “Very relaxed. I remember being on the bench against Manchester United in the Carling Cup. We were losing 1-0 and I just remember how calm he was. He just kept saying ‘we’ll get the next goal’.
“I remember coming in at half-time, everyone was just sitting there and I’m thinking in my head: is anyone going to say anything? Obviously I wasn’t going to say anything but at 1-0 down… the manager sort of stayed outside and then came in and spoke, but it was so calm and relaxed, it was like, ‘oh wow’.
“That was obviously his method. Maybe towards the end he might have changed because the pressure might have changed him and got so much, but at that time he could do no wrong. The team that had won the league the year before were phenomenal.”
The 33-year-old added: “Not that I had an unbelievable relationship with him, I’m not making that out at all. But he gave me my debut in professional football, which I’m obviously immensely proud of.”
Cregg recounted the “surreal” experience of sharing a dressing room with the likes of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, and how his prospects of further first-team opportunities weren’t aided by a lack of awareness of the importance of nutrition: “I used to go and get a pizza every night, and that’s not even a lie. I just wasn’t educated.”
Although he had stints with Shamrock Rovers and St Pat’s towards towards the end of his career, Cregg played mostly in Scotland. The former Ireland U21 international made nearly 200 top-flight appearances — for Falkirk, Hibernian, St Mirren and St Johnstone — and also played in a Scottish Cup final against Rangers.
You can hear the full episode with Patrick Cregg by becoming one of our valued members. Details of how to do so for just €5 per month — or €42 for a year — are available here.
To get in touch with the show, e-mail thefootballfamily@the42.ie
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'He gave me my debut in professional football, which I'm immensely proud of'
A NEW EPISODE of The Football Family podcast — a collection of longform interviews with Irish footballers of past and present — is now available to The42 members.
Our guest on Episode 13 is Patrick Cregg, who has been working as assistant manager at St Patrick’s Athletic since September following Stephen O’Donnell’s appointment as boss.
The pair were together as teenagers at Arsenal, where Cregg managed to make a first-team breakthrough under Arsene Wenger in 2004, when the Gunners were Premier League champions on the back of their ‘Invincibles’ campaign.
The midfielder from Dublin made three League Cup appearances, one of which came as an 18-year-old in a quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“A very calm man, from the experience I would’ve had with him,” he said of Wenger. “Very relaxed. I remember being on the bench against Manchester United in the Carling Cup. We were losing 1-0 and I just remember how calm he was. He just kept saying ‘we’ll get the next goal’.
“I remember coming in at half-time, everyone was just sitting there and I’m thinking in my head: is anyone going to say anything? Obviously I wasn’t going to say anything but at 1-0 down… the manager sort of stayed outside and then came in and spoke, but it was so calm and relaxed, it was like, ‘oh wow’.
“That was obviously his method. Maybe towards the end he might have changed because the pressure might have changed him and got so much, but at that time he could do no wrong. The team that had won the league the year before were phenomenal.”
The 33-year-old added: “Not that I had an unbelievable relationship with him, I’m not making that out at all. But he gave me my debut in professional football, which I’m obviously immensely proud of.”
The42 Podcasts / SoundCloud
Cregg recounted the “surreal” experience of sharing a dressing room with the likes of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, and how his prospects of further first-team opportunities weren’t aided by a lack of awareness of the importance of nutrition: “I used to go and get a pizza every night, and that’s not even a lie. I just wasn’t educated.”
Although he had stints with Shamrock Rovers and St Pat’s towards towards the end of his career, Cregg played mostly in Scotland. The former Ireland U21 international made nearly 200 top-flight appearances — for Falkirk, Hibernian, St Mirren and St Johnstone — and also played in a Scottish Cup final against Rangers.
You can hear the full episode with Patrick Cregg by becoming one of our valued members. Details of how to do so for just €5 per month — or €42 for a year — are available here.
To get in touch with the show, e-mail thefootballfamily@the42.ie
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Patrick Cregg Podcast Arsenal The Football Family