SEANI MAGUIRE FEELS his best days are still to come for Cork City after he completed a sensational return to the club where he made his name.
The 11-time Ireland international still has Leeside fans calling him a legend for his 18 months with the club which saw him win the league and cup while bagging 53 goals in 70 games.
His ambition now is to go to the next level and become an all-time club icon.
“I wanted to come back to give a lot to the league and the club. I see a lot of players coming back mid-30s and give it maybe a year,” he said.
But I feel like I wanted to come back in really good shape, really good fitness, and hopefully my best years in a Cork jersey are still to come.
“People in that year and a half would say ‘Seani, you’re a legend’ and stuff like that for winning a couple of cups and a league. But I want to go from being a legend to – I don’t know what’s after legend? – having a legacy.
“I don’t just want to be Seani, you won two cups, a league, and scored some of the goals. You want to go and do that again and again and leave a mark, a legacy.
“That driving hunger is there more than ever. I want the club to get back where it belongs, winning leagues, winning cups, and I think they’re going in the right direction to getting back there.”
The 30-year-old had offers to stay in England but none were close to his house in Preston.
After his time with Carlisle United came to an end and with newborn baby Romeo to consider, it felt like the right time to move home.
“It was clubs that didn’t really suit us. It was more other side of the country, four or five hours away, and then you’re spending three or four days away from the baby.
“I’ve been speaking to Cork the last couple of weeks. If I was coming back to Ireland, there would be no other place than coming to Cork.
It wouldn’t make any sense going anywhere else. It wouldn’t feel right me putting on a different jersey and playing for a different club.
“I was always going to move back to Cork. I’m happy it’s happened now.
“It feels like forever ago but just like yesterday at the same time. It’s a bit of a weird feeling but the reaction I got the last couple of days means the world to us.
“I got back the early hours of yesterday morning on the boat so I only really got into the city today and every third person was coming over to us, welcoming us back.
“The club means a lot more to me than what I did actually think. I’m born and bred in Kilkenny but I suppose now I’m a Corkman at heart. My young fella is going to grow up in Cork. My wife’s from Cork. So it’s good to be back.
“I’m here to help the club get back to where it was because it’s hurt us the last couple of years seeing the club drift in and out of the divisions.”
Maguire isn’t City’s only big-name signing with 2023 top scorer Ruairí Keating returning from St Pat’s and midfielder Seán Murray inking a permanent deal from Glentoran after a loan spell.
Seani and Ruairí go back 10 years to their time competing for substitute appearances at Sligo Rovers under John Coleman. They have remained in touch over the years through good friend and former City player Kevin O’Connor. When Keating signed his deal with the Leesiders, it convinced Maguire to do the same.
They didn’t get to play together in City’s scoreless draw with Athlone Town as Maguire replaced Keating but manager Tim Clancy expects the pair to feature together in next week’s FAI Cup third-round clash with Derry City.
“I think we’ll have a great partnership,” added Maguire. “We bring different qualities and if we can make them qualities come together, you can have a proper partnership.
“Hopefully, in the future, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the Premier Division.
“A good week’s training with the lads and I’ll be in a better state next week. When I signed the other day, I was more looking towards the game next week.
“It’s a big one, big crowd, and hopefully we go and beat Derry. I know they’ve been doing well in the league, sitting second, but I don’t see why not.”