O'Conor - Martin Can Bring The Best Out Of Me

Limerick midfielder Paul O’Conor believes Martin Russell can “bring the best out” in him, having rejoined forces with his former manager for the coming season.

The 27-year-old endured a frustrating year at Sligo Rovers in 2014 where he felt he was “very inconsistent”, with the focus now on rediscovering his top form.

O’Conor previously worked under Russell for three seasons in the first-team setup at UCD and the Sweden-born player is hopeful it can again be a fruitful partnership, now on Shannonside.
 

“I know the type of football Martin likes to play and it’s the type of football that I like to play as well,” O’Conor told LimerickFC.ie.
 

“We know each other quite well; he knows my game and I think he’ll be able to bring the best out of me.

“Up and down is probably the way I’d describe my level last year. I wasn’t as happy as I should have been. This year, I certainly want to get back to a level where I feel towards my best.

“Last year was very inconsistent from my point of view, for what I would like. I have a lot of work to do during this pre-season to make sure that I’m back to a very high level that I would expect from myself.
 

“UCD was a stepping-stone sort of situation and then Drogheda took it obviously to another level. I was happy with how things went at Drogheda on a personal level.
 

“I had very good times up in Sligo and there were times that I was playing well. But the problem was just consistency and that’s the thing that’s most important.
 

“Especially now coming into this side, I want to make sure my performances are as consistent as humanly possible. That’s what this pre-season is for; to make sure that my fitness is up at that level, so that I can compete at the highest level that I want to be at.”
 

Asked if it was easy for Russell to sell him the club, Paul added: “I was looking forward to playing under Martin because I know the style of football he wants to play, but Limerick is a huge club in Ireland so there wasn’t too much to sell.
 

“The facilities here are the best you’re going to get in the country. There are certainly no complaints on that side of it. There’s a high expectation here, which is what you want, so I’m certainly looking forward to getting in and amongst it.”
 

Limerick returned for pre-season training last Friday, with testing being followed by a double session on Monday and another on Tuesday.

“The first few days of pre-season are just trying to ease yourself back into things and not rushing into it, getting to know the lads and stuff like that,” O’Conor said.

“Obviously, there are a few of us just coming in and the main thing is to get ourselves ticking over at the beginning and start getting the fitness back up to where it needs to be.

“There are a few lads coming up from UCD that I would have known when I was there, and even the lads that I haven’t met before, I know from playing in the league. They have all made us feel very welcome and we’ve settled in quite easily.

“I’m looking forward to getting back into the training, getting our level of fitness up to another level and hopefully be ready for our first pre-season game.

“We had our off-season programme so I’ve been using that for the last couple of months. We’ve come back in, done a bit of running and they’ve kind of eased us back in.

“I’d say as the weeks go on, the training will get tougher and tougher, but that’s what you obviously need. We’re back early enough that by the time the season starts we should be raring to go.”