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The long way from tipperary  Reading
super-sub Shane Long speaks to Graham Clifford about his determination
to secure a starting place for both club and country.
IF the rumours doing the rounds are true then Reading striker Shane Long
will have cause for a double celebration on January 22.
This of course is the date of the next FAI board meeting when it’s
expected that Terry Venables will be installed as the new Republic of
Ireland manager but it also happens to be the young Tipperary man’s
21st birthday.
Speaking to The Irish Post this week Long said he believes the FAI and
the three-man selection panel of Ray Houghton, Don Givens and Don Howe
will choose the right man to manage his country but said ‘experience’
should be the buzz word darting around the National Sports Campus at Abbotstown.
He said: “I think our new manager should be someone who has managed
at international level before and has been around the game for a while.
I think most of the Irish lads are of that opinion and hopefully we’ll
get a manager who can guide us to the World Cup in 2010.”
Long agrees it would be best if the Republic had a manager appointed for
the visit of Brazil to Croke Park for next month’s friendly.
“By then we should have our man in place for what should be a big
day for Irish football,” he said. “I’d love the chance
to play against the Brazilians and I’m sure the place will be packed
to the brim.”
Long broke into the senior Irish set-up under the reign of the maligned
Steve Staunton, donning the green on seven occasions and finding the back
of the net three times.
Unprepared to criticise his former international manager he said that
if Ireland had luck on their side during the European Championship qualifiers
things could have been very different for both Stan and the team.
“We just didn’t have the rub of the green,” he said.
“Conceding that late goal away to Slovakia in particular was painful
but had we won that game who knows what might have happened. Staunton
may have his critics but I couldn’t fault the man — he gave
me my international debut and he always had faith in me. He was a legend
as a player and I think that’s the way his contribution to Irish
football should be remembered.”
On the domestic front Long continues to be known around the Madejski Stadium
as a super-sub. Though he’s only completed two Premiership games
this season (both in August) Long has been sprung from the bench by manager
Steve Coppell on 14 occasions. While he admits frustration can set in
at times Long knows that the only way he can make a claim for a starting
place on a consistent basis is by impressing the manager.
“If you look at the way Kevin (Doyle) and Kitts (Dave Kitson) have
been playing this season you see why it’s so hard to break into
the starting team regularly,” said Long. “All I can do is
work hard on the training ground and stay positive. It’s going to
be hard to budge the two of them but I just have to grab my chances when
I get them. You have to remember there’s still half-a-season to
go and you never know what can happen in football. I’m grateful
for every minute I get in a game and know to stake a claim I have to be
totally committed. But Reading is where I want to be and I’d play
centre-half for the side if I had to.”
In July of last year Long — who moved to Reading just ahead of the
2005-06 season from Cork City —signed an extended four-year contract
which will keep the nippy hitman at the Berkshire club until 2011.
Long found the back of the net four times last season in all competitions
and so far this season has netted twice.
A former Tipperary minor hurler Long played in two All-Ireland semi-finals
for the Premier County. The Gortnahoe man made history in March of last
year when he came on as a substitute against Slovakia becoming the only
person to have played hurling and soccer at Croke Park.
He recalls: “I wasn’t aware of that fact until after the game
when a friend of mine contacted me. He said he discovered it at a pub
quiz!”
Long still tries to find time to puck a few balls around and last summer
attended two of the classic Tipperary versus Limerick Munster Hurling
Championship games in a dramatic saga.
“With hectic schedules it can be difficult to find time to meet
up with the likes of Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt and puck a few balls
but I still love the game,” he said. “People often ask me
what I’d be doing if I wasn’t a professional footballer. Job-wise
I’m not sure but I’d definitely be a hurler.”
Shane Long would have preferred to be in Austria and Switzerland this
summer but instead may be watching the Championships on TV in Tipperary.
There’s no doubt though that the laid-back Irishman will be terrorising
International defences before long and he’ll be hoping the next
Irish manager, whoever he is, appreciates the pocket-rocket he has at
his disposal. |
