SEAN ROUGHAN is still only 19, but already, the Ireland U21 international has had plenty of exposure to men’s football.

All the way back in September 2020, just days after turning 17, the defender made his debut for Lincoln City, completing 90 minutes in an EFL Cup win over Crewe.

He made 11 appearances in total that season, while also studying for his Leaving Cert — the club hired a tutor to prepare him for the exams.

“I sat my Leaving Cert and did quite well in it,” he says. “My Ma wouldn’t let me go over unless I did my exams.

“I didn’t want to do it, I’m thankful I did it. I’ll probably go do a course in three years’ time to have a backup in case my football career ends for medical reasons.

“That was a tough year at Lincoln being away from my family too. There were a few times when I got into trouble for playing too much football. It got to a stage where I wasn’t playing much football. I was leaving school when training had already started and I’d try to catch up. It was tiring but worth it.”

In terms of the potential for going down alternative avenues to football, Roughan adds: “I was quite good in construction so maybe an interior designer or business and marketing, just how to run a business.

“I did the Leaving during Covid [in 2020]. I was only gone 17 doing my Leaving Cert.

“I was still playing football in the back garden with my Ma giving out to me.

“I didn’t know whether it would be cancelled, or predicted grades. Thankfully, it was predicted grades.”

While what lies ahead is impossible to predict, for now, Roughan is free to focus on football.

There have already been setbacks in his young career, however, notably an injury-troubled spell at the beginning of last year.

“When I went away with the [Ireland] U21s at the start of the last campaign, I picked up an ankle injury. Then picked up another injury, got concussed in my first game back and needed ankle surgery.

“It was a succession of injuries but not once I didn’t put my head down. Credit to my family for not allowing me to do that. Everything happens for a reason — I truly believe that.”

A loan spell to Drogheda last year proved beneficial, as he made 15 appearances in the Premier Division.

“A lot of people were saying it was a step back because I’d played a good few games at Lincoln City,” he recalls.

“To come back after injury and play so many games, Kevin Doherty and Daire Doyle did a lot for me by regaining my confidence, which led to me playing for Ireland’s U19s in the Euro qualifiers in England.

“It wasn’t a difficult call for me because I wanted to do it. There were different options but I’d get more games in the summer season in Ireland.

“I also wanted to go home because it was just after surgery, put my feet up at home. I needed my confidence back after not playing for a while and there was the [Ireland] U19s to push for too.

“Some people doubted whether I should but you have to make calls in football and I thought it was best for me.”

The temporary stint in Ireland paid off. Roughan returned to his parent club with renewed confidence on the back of this game time and has barely looked back since.

At the time of writing, he has made 34 appearances in this campaign for the side currently 14th in League One.

“Coming up against tough opponents has been tough on the body. I hadn’t been a regular first-teamer other than the first part of the last LOI season at Drogheda United.

“It’s great to come back and play against quality. That put me out of my comfort zone.”

Roughan pays tribute in particular to former Ireland international Mark Kennedy, who was appointed Lincoln manager in May of last year, and under whom the teenage defender swiftly became a first-team regular.

“I’m a young lad without much experience so I can’t thank him enough,” he says.

Roughan is capable of playing centre-back but has been slotting into the left wing-back role of late — a position Kennedy knows well, having spent the majority of his career on the left, alternating between full-back, wing-back and winger.

“He’s been excellent for me. As a left winger who moved into left back, he tells me a lot of stuff. He gives me that experience from a high level, which helps me.

“He always tells me what to improve on. Tactically, he’s very good and he’s made the team hard to beat.

“Because we don’t have the biggest budget in League One, you need to be hard to beat.

“He’s great around the training ground and all the lads like him.”

Dubliner Kennedy earned 34 Ireland caps between 1995 and 2002, playing for Liverpool, Man City, and Wolves among others. And his footballing talent is still very much apparent, according to Roughan.

“He’s always telling me about his caps and we joke about him having the best left foot in the club.

“He has a sweet one which he shows off in training — he’s still got a ridiculous left foot.

“In the drills, his service into players is unbelievable and every type of ball goes to your foot.”

Moreover, back in March 1995, Kennedy left Millwall to join Liverpool for an initial £1.5 million fee (potentially rising to £2.3 million) — the transfer at the time saw him become the most expensive teenager in British football history.

So if Roughan or any youngster at the club needs advice on dealing with hype or expectations, there is no better man to turn to.

“Even when he came in, he spoke about knowing what it’s like to move away from home at a young age. He’d done it.

“He also said if I ever need to have a talk with him or go home for a day or two, just call into his office and we’ll sort something out.

“He’s grown on me ever since then. We grew up not far from each other, Swords for me and Corduff for him. He mightn’t sound Irish much now but he gets our banter.”

At one stage it looked like Roughan may follow in the footsteps of Kennedy by earning a big Premier League move, having gone on trial to a couple of clubs in May 2021. Despite no transfers materialising ultimately, he has no regrets over the trajectory his career has taken.

“I was at Chelsea, Southampton, and Brighton but I didn’t go. I’m now playing first-team football which I’d rather be doing than playing U23s.

“You benefit much more from being in matches that mean something. There’s a hunger to win, block the shot and get the three points.”