RedMatchday Interview | Anthony O’Connor

People look at footballers as living the dream. Of course, in many ways, they are, but don’t ever think that just because playing first team football for a club like Aberdeen is a dream, they haven’t had to work really hard, go through many challenges and make huge sacrifices to get there. If you do, Anthony O’Connor can put you right on that score.

Anthony grew up in Cork but his ambitions of making his way in the game meant that there was no way he was going to be able to stay there, as he explains.

“There’s not many opportunities to play professional football back home so a lot of kids come over from Ireland to England or Scotland, but whether they are good enough is another thing. When you come over, you are playing with players who probably train four or five times a week. That is when you see if they can really hack it. When I went to Blackburn as a kid, I thought this is where I really need to step it up now. I need to show that I am as good as any of the young lads here.

“I was 14 and I was training with the youth team who were U18 at the time. I thought what better way to show that I can do? I remember training with them and going around and ruffling a few of them! I think you have to do that when you come over. You cannot just look an ok player. You have to stand out and that is what I did when I went to Blackburn. If I had any advice to young lads coming over from Ireland, or any young lads trying to make their way in the game, it’s to believe in yourself and give it everything you have got.

“I was only 15 when I moved over to England full time. That was very tough. I remember my dad came over with me for the first few weeks. On day one, I walked in and I was over the moon and went up to my digs where I would be living and unpacked everything and I was chuffed to pieces. Then the day my dad left was when it hit me. I am going to be on my own now and I am going to have to knuckle down.

“I’m not going to lie, I cried my eyes out for weeks and weeks. I was away from my family, I was away from my friends. I was just training every day and then coming up to basically a bedroom and just watching TV. There were some tough days. I was not able to go out with my mates or do what I wanted. This is a proper job. It is not just a game you play for fun. You have to look after yourself and that is what I have been doing over the last eight or nine years since I have been here. That is my life now.

“Probably the biggest change you go through is your body adjusting to training. You train and then have to rest your body for the next day or training. As time goes on it does get easier of course. When you are 15, for a lot of lads, that is an age when you go to school and then go and hang out with your mates and do what you want. You don’t have a care in the world. I was at the beginning of a long journey, trying to fulfil a dream. Football took over my life, but it was what I wanted. The three sports played in that part of Ireland are Gaelic football, hurling and normal football. I have always been pure football and never really tried the other two. It was always football with me.

“I grew up in a tough part of Cork, quite a rough area. But I was lucky to always have a ball at my side and that kept me out of trouble. Every day after school I would go home and kick a ball against a wall which made me a happy lad.

“I joined my first team when I was about six. At that age, playing football with all your mates, everything is brilliant. There is nothing better than playing football on a Saturday morning in a team with your friends. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a footballer. I knew at that age I was competitive and even from a young age I wanted to win. That drove me on and made me the player I am today. Back then I wanted to keep getting better and keep improving. That is still the same attitude I have today.  

“From a young age, my mum and dad were heavily involved. They drove me to all the games and made sure I had the best boots. When I got to the stage that it started to become a bit serious, my dad took more seriously as well as he quickly realised I had a chance. I think he realised that from a young age because I was always the best player in my team, but that does not mean much, you never think at that age you will go and be a professional footballer.

“It picked up when I was around 11 or 12. I was approached to go and play Gaelic football and hurling by a number of clubs because I was athletic and they had heard about me. I decided that I wanted to give my football career everything. I didn’t want any excuses as to why I did not make it. Straight away I said no. I knew that football clubs were also watching me. I got in the Cork team. There is a tournament in Ireland at U13 level, the Kennedy Cup. The best players from Cork get picked for the Cork team. The best players from Dublin get picked from the Dublin team and it is basically 32 counties in Ireland coming to play each other and every major club in England is represented by a scout.

“I played in that and then progressed to the Ireland team at U14 level which was brilliant. From there, I went on trial to Blackburn when I was 14 for a week and on the second day, we had a trial game against Leeds. That was an U15 game and I was only 14. I remember that I played really well in the game and we won 7-0 or something like that. The next day they called me into the office and said they wanted to sign me and offered me a contract there and then. They did not want me speaking to anyone else. I remember ringing my mum and dad and they were chuffed for me. Other clubs then started coming in for me, but I had made my mind up. When I first went there I loved it instantly so why go somewhere else? I had met all the players, I had met all the staff and they really seemed to like me.

“I was playing for the U16s at first although I was training with the U18s. I could see that I was better than most of them, but I was getting frustrated because I could not play for them. You had to be a certain age and you also had to wait for your clearance to come through if you are U16. After Christmas, the clearance did finally come through and I went straight into the Academy team and played every game which helped me settle. Over time I moved into the reserves and then started to get into the first team squad.

“Eventually, it became frustrating, not getting a first team chance. I signed a four-year deal when I first signed and then in my last year I got offered another year. In that last season I went on loan to Burton Albion. I had a great year there and played 55 games, every game that season. I had a really good year and midway through I got offered a new three-year deal at Blackburn. So at that point, I thought they must see me as a first team player. This is where the real work starts!

“But then I went back the following summer for the start of pre-season, Gary Bowyer took over. Gary was actually my youth team manager and my reserve manager before progressing to be the first team manager. He always liked me as a youth a reserve played but although I was now training with the first team, I never really got a chance. I don’t know what it was, maybe he was under pressure to get results as Blackburn is a massive club. He was maybe unable to put his faith into the younger players. I realised then it was time for me to move on.

“The Championship is a very, very tough league to get out of. There are a lot of very big clubs, Blackburn being one of them, one of the few clubs to have won the Premier League. You have clubs who have won the old First Division, clubs who have won European trophies and even two clubs, Villa and Forrest, who have won the European Cup. They are all desperate to get back into the EPL so you can understand why managers might find it hard to blood young players starting out in their careers. Gary trusted his more experienced players who had been there and done it to try and get promotion.

“I had loan spells at Burton, Plymouth, Torquay, so I have done a lot of travelling but that is me wanting to play football. I would go anywhere to play, that is my mentality. If I am playing football then I am happy. If I am playing there will be a smile on my face. I went to Burton and had a very good year and then went to Torquey and Plymouth and now I am at the other end of the UK! Aberdeen is a massive club so I am very happy to be here.

“I was aware of an interest from Aberdeen for quite a while. At that time I made a decision to go back to Burton for another year and we got promotion to the Championship, but I wanted to move on and at the back of my mind had always been Aberdeen. So I thought why not have a change and do something different? As soon as I heard Aberdeen were interested again, I decided to go for it. I am happy with the start I have made and hopefully I can keep improving and keep getting better.

“I think every football player should be ambitious. I don’t think you should play football if you are just happy to stroll along and just making a living out of it. Some people do that and have decent careers, but that is not me. My mentality is that I want to be the best player. I want to be the best centre-half in the league. I know I will play in different positions for the side but my main position is centre-half so that is the position I want to excel in. I have started well at centre-back and my confidence is high when I play there, but I know that ithe manager will need me to play in different position just because I can do, and I am happy to do it.”