• General

  • Tuesday November 27th, 2012 @ 22:35

CONAN A HAPPY SAINT

Conan Byrne admits the prospect of joining St Pats and linking up with Saints' manager Liam Buckley once more was a key factor in joining the Inchicore club as he spoke of his happiness of joining the club ahead of the 2013 league season.

The midfielder joins the club following a two year spell with Shelbourne where he earned promotion to the Premier Division in 2011 with Alan Matthews' side, while before that Byrne began with three seasons at UCD before moving on to Sporting Fingal, where he spent a further three years under the guidance of Buckley.

Speaking with stpatsfc.com, the midfielder couldn't hide his delight in joining the club, revealing that the opportunity to work with former teammates and the style of play of the club, as well as working with Buckley again, were key factors in signing for the Saints.

“Yeah I'm over the moon to sign for Pats. A lot of people know I've worked with Liam before, so once he came looking to sign me I had my mind pretty much made up.

The way the club play, the players we have and the fact I know a good few of them from previous clubs, it was probably the easiest decision I've had to make in football,”
Byrne admitted.

Indeed it was at Fingal that Byrne experienced his most successful period in his career, finishing the 2009 First Division season as Fingal's top-scorer with 21 league goals in 33 games as well as winning the FAI Cup.

The winger, who scored 47 goals in 132 games in his time at Fingal, admitted that he hoped to achieve the personal targets that he always sets himself. “Yeah I always set myself targets and that season [2009] was a great one for me personally,” he told stpatsfc.com.

“It was a great season for Fingal but it was all down to the players and management then, and again, it's great that a lot of the same players and the manager are here at Pats.

If I can get anywhere close to scoring that amount of goals next season, we'll be doing very well!

But I'll have my own targets, and if I reach them, I'll be happy.”


With the 2013 season due to begin in the Setanta Cup on February 10th, European football on the agenda once more for the Saints, and the aim of competing with the league's other sides for honours, Byrne admitted he was looking forward to training with his new side.

“Yeah I just can't wait for the new season to get going,” he admitted.

“We've the Setanta in February, and even before that pre-season and just getting back to training again. I'm already missing it, and I just can't wait to get back.

Playing in Europe next year too will be really exciting as there's so much to look forward to with the experience, the crowds, the atmosphere, it is something that you can really look back on in later years and be proud of.”

“Having done well in the league and just losing out on the cup last season, we know that if we can do better than last year's side, it will be a productive year.

With the signings Liam has made and the retaining of some of the players, there's no reason why Pats can't do that.”

Next Fixture

Drogheda United / March 29th @ 7:45pm
Competition: League
Venue: Weavers Park
 
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St Patrick's Athletic FC

Founded in 1929 the 'Saints' are the current FAI Cup holders and play in the Premier Division of the SSE Airtricity League at Richmond Park, in Inchicore Dublin 8, Ireland.

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