LIMERICK FC midfielder Paul O’Conor insists “there is a belief” within the Limerick dressing-room that they can perform a great escape and save their Premier Division status, speaking in an in-depth interview in Saturday’s Matchday Magazine.
In a five-page feature on the 27-year-old, he speaks about being born in Sweden, kicking off his football career in Belgium at six, exploring rugby and his rise through the ranks at UCD which gave him a path into the League of Ireland.
O’Conor moved to Limerick from Sligo Rovers before Christmas and he admits it has been “as tough a season as you can imagine”, with the Shannonsiders still winless after 17 league games.
But ahead of Saturday’s crucial clash with Bray Wanderers at the Markets Field (kick-off 6.30pm), O’Conor says he has confidence that they can pull themselves from the fire and that everyone must “put their bodies on the line” for the cause.
“I really did think that we deserved to win our first game there,” Paul told Into The Blue, reflecting on the club’s return to the Markets Field on 5 June against Drogheda United. “Things don’t go that way unfortunately. But it’s massive.
“We’ve trained there now a good few times and gotten used to the pitch and the size of it. It’s a quality stadium and quality pitch – probably one of the better pitches in the league.
“There are no more excuses. There can’t be anymore excuses when you have a ground like that as your home. We’ll certainly try to make use of the size of the pitch and the quality of the pitch.
“From the outside, you can understand why people would have written us off – we haven’t won a game yet. It’s completely understandable. There is a belief within the dressing-room. You have to have belief.
“It has obviously been as tough a season as you can imagine. But we have to have that belief. The manager still believes we can do it and the players still believe that we can do it. We have three or four weeks coming up that are very important to our season to see how it’s going to end up.
“The next few weeks are going to be crucial. We’re going to need to have everybody pulling together, putting in shifts and doing everything that they can – putting their bodies on the line to make sure we come out with some big results over the next few weeks.”
Saturday’s Matchday Magazine ‘Into The Blue’ is a must-read, with 48 pages full of news, views, information and fun. It will be on sale at the Stadium for €4.
