General
- Tuesday December 15th, 2009 @ 22:29
JOHN GILL TALKS TO STPATSFC.COM
Saints' assistant manager, John Gill, spoke to stpatsfc.com about working again with Pete Mahon and the upcoming League of Ireland season.
On recently joining the Saints from Shelbourne....
I’ve always enjoyed good relations with Dermot Keely.
He gave me my break in the league back in 2001 and last season when they needed coaching cover for three weeks I was delighted to get involved with the club.
I enjoyed working with Pete here at the end of last season so when Dermot approached about getting involved with Shelbourne I did so on the understanding that if the opportunity came up to work with Pete and St Pat’s again, I would be free to take it.
Dermot was true to his word and I thank him for that.
On working again with Pat’s manager Pete Mahon.....
Well it’s been pretty hectic over the past week.
We started by compiling a list of players we would like to bring to the club position by position and then contacting those players.
We’re meeting players every day now and putting our offer to them.
We’ll give them time to think it over but not too much time.
I think we can be as attractive as any other club.
We’ll be training as much as last year but perhaps in a different format.
We’re in the process of securing sound training facilities and a good gym. Whatever the format, we will have fulltime expectations and standards.
On what Saints fans can expect from the team next year....
Listen I’m not going to talk about league positions or trophies but what I will guarantee is that next season we will have a team playing with pride and plenty of effort.
I think we had to do some fast track stuff last season but some of that effort could be seen by fans in the last nine games.
We are looking for players who are passionate about the game who will play in a disciplined way but of course they will have to be well able to play!
The club has enjoyed a few good years of being a well resourced professional set-up but we’re no longer in that same position.
Restructuring is needed at all levels in the club.
I think the fans will need to be realistic and also a bit patient and hopefully they will see the rewards on the pitch before too long.
Since I’ve been here the fans have been great, they really got behind us especially for the last few games of last season.
It was difficult for them as there is no way a club like St Pat’s should have found itself in that position.
It wasn’t just about getting beaten I think it was the manner in which the team were beaten at times.
There is no right way to ever lose a game but a bit of honest endeavour makes getting beaten by a better team easier to live with.
As I say a bit of honest effort, no rolling over and no throwing in the towel early – that’s what we’ll be looking for.
Personally I’m looking forward to just getting back out onto the training ground and working to get a St Pat’s team playing good attacking football with players playing in their right positions.
Get behind Pete, John and St Pat’s next season with a 2010 season ticket. Call 01 4546332 for an application form or click here to download.
