Daly delighted about Drogs stay

Despite losing key-man Paul O’Conor to Sligo Rovers earlier this week, there will be a sense of relief among Drogheda United fans, having secured three members of last year’s squad.

Goal-scorer supreme Declan O’Brien has been joined by defenders Shane Grimes and Mick Daly in committing to the cause for next season, and the latter says it was an easy choice to make.

Speaking to extratime.ie, 24 year-old Daly said: “I’m delighted to have signed up for next season. I'm very happy at the club and didn’t see any reason to change that.

“I always wanted to sign again for Drogheda, but obviously I had to wait and see what manager was in place, and see if I would be in his plans. However, when Robbie (Horgan) was appointed, I knew I’d be back for next year.”

Having attracted interest from other clubs throughout the league, Daly said that he only had plans to stay with Drogheda. Having just launched his own gym in Castleknock, many people would have thought the defender may opt for a club closer to home. For Daly though, this wasn’t the case.

“Two other clubs had made approaches to me, but to be honest, I didn’t want to move. So once I had the contract in front of me from Drogheda, I signed.

“A lot of players travel to and from clubs. I’m not sure that that can be called a sign of ‘passion’ for a club, but I would like to think the way I play shows how much I love the club”, he said.

The appointment of Horgan depicts a sense of ‘sticking-to-what-they-know’ at Hunky Dory Park, with the new boss being Mick Cooke’s number two last season. Securing the signatures of Daly, Grimes and ‘Fabio’ will undoubtedly have been top of his agenda when taking the job.

Daly said: “It’s vital we hold onto the spine of last year’s team. On and off the field, they were a great bunch and if we can keep the majority of the team, along with a few additions, it could be a very exciting year for us.

“I think certain things will change under Robbie.  He'll want to put his stamp on the team but I don’t think it will be anything too drastic.”

Highly regarded in League of Ireland circles, Daly returned to Irish football last season, having been based abroad since 2010. A former Manchester City trainee, the defender was a mainstay for the Louth outfit last year. Despite being on the losing side in this year’s memorable FAI Cup final, Daly was pleased with the season’s work.

“Last season was the most enjoyable year of my life. We had a great bunch of lads, who were all close mates which was really good.

“It was a bit of an anti-climax for us in the final, after all the build-up, and to lose like that was and still is heart-breaking. Hopefully we can push on and win a cup next year; after this season I think we’re due a win”, he said.