Grant 'Delighted' with Blues Return
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Waterford United last night completed the signing of midfielder Stephen Grant from local side Tramore AFC. The 23-year-old rejoins the club having spent three seasons at the RSC from 2004 to 2006 and today he spoke exclusively to extratime.ie about his move.
Grant admits he is very happy to have returned to the club and will now be looking to help his side claim the league title and achieve promotion to the Premier Division. “Yeah I’m delighted to be back to be honest, I’ve been out of the club for the last couple of years and to be back involved, especially with Stephen Henderson involved and the club in a good position going for the title and get promotion next year, so delighted to be back involved.”
Having left three years ago at a young age without having the chance to fulfill his potential, this move would seem to have a sense of unfinished business for Grant, but the player himself doesn’t believe so. “I suppose, I don’t really feel like that, I left the club here two or three years ago and it’s something I regret to be honest. I’m very pleased to be back involved here again and to get back in now and start enjoying it again, certainly I feel like I’m bringing something to the team and [can] help with their promotion hopes but do I feel I have unfinished business? Not really, as I feel that in every game I have to go out and play well and do well all the time, certainly I think that the main focus of the club now is to get back into the Premier Division next season.”
The decision to return would seem to have been an easy one then for the young midfielder and he claims manager Stephen Henderson was a key factor in convincing him to move back. “Yeah a very big factor actually, he got in touch with me originally a couple of years ago when he had heard that I had left the club, Waterford United, and asked me to sign with Cobh. So I met him at the time and due to college commitments and other bits and pieces I couldn’t sign for him but definitely a manager I always had a lot of respect for. I always liked the way he set up his team and the way he got them to play so [I’m] delighted to have the opportunity to work with him to be honest.”
The Blues currently sit one point off the top of the First Division table but are behind their three main rivals for promotion in fourth place, with plenty of games left to go it’s going to be a fascinating race to go up and one which Grant feels Waterford can win. Given the small size of the squad, the new arrival will need to slip right in and get used to playing with his new teammates as soon as possible and he seems to be adjusting quite well so far. “Yeah I’ve been training with them the last few weeks, some of the players I’m only getting to know but they’re very, very good I have to say, some very good local players that I know are delighted to have the chance to come in. Stephen has also brought a couple of players in from Cobh who got promotion, for Cobh, two years ago so some good experience and a lot of the squad who are there at the moment do have Premier Division experience so I think that’s going to be a big help. Certainly Mick Devine on goal brings an awful lot to it too, you know, there’s a lot of experience there.”
Now that he’s signed Grant will be looking to stake a claim for a place in the starting XI and begin helping the team progress on the pitch. “Oh definitely, I mean, I haven’t been playing in the last year or so at this level but I’m really looking forward to getting back into it and certainly I wouldn’t be going back to play with any team unless I thought that I was going to be playing but yeah personally for me it’s about getting back in now as fast as I can. But again it is going to take a little bit of time I suppose to become accustomed to the way that the guys are playing and the way Stephen has set the team up, so from my own point of view I’m looking to get up to speed as fast as I can and get into the team, definitely.”
Grant admits he is very happy to have returned to the club and will now be looking to help his side claim the league title and achieve promotion to the Premier Division. “Yeah I’m delighted to be back to be honest, I’ve been out of the club for the last couple of years and to be back involved, especially with Stephen Henderson involved and the club in a good position going for the title and get promotion next year, so delighted to be back involved.”
Having left three years ago at a young age without having the chance to fulfill his potential, this move would seem to have a sense of unfinished business for Grant, but the player himself doesn’t believe so. “I suppose, I don’t really feel like that, I left the club here two or three years ago and it’s something I regret to be honest. I’m very pleased to be back involved here again and to get back in now and start enjoying it again, certainly I feel like I’m bringing something to the team and [can] help with their promotion hopes but do I feel I have unfinished business? Not really, as I feel that in every game I have to go out and play well and do well all the time, certainly I think that the main focus of the club now is to get back into the Premier Division next season.”
The decision to return would seem to have been an easy one then for the young midfielder and he claims manager Stephen Henderson was a key factor in convincing him to move back. “Yeah a very big factor actually, he got in touch with me originally a couple of years ago when he had heard that I had left the club, Waterford United, and asked me to sign with Cobh. So I met him at the time and due to college commitments and other bits and pieces I couldn’t sign for him but definitely a manager I always had a lot of respect for. I always liked the way he set up his team and the way he got them to play so [I’m] delighted to have the opportunity to work with him to be honest.”
The Blues currently sit one point off the top of the First Division table but are behind their three main rivals for promotion in fourth place, with plenty of games left to go it’s going to be a fascinating race to go up and one which Grant feels Waterford can win. Given the small size of the squad, the new arrival will need to slip right in and get used to playing with his new teammates as soon as possible and he seems to be adjusting quite well so far. “Yeah I’ve been training with them the last few weeks, some of the players I’m only getting to know but they’re very, very good I have to say, some very good local players that I know are delighted to have the chance to come in. Stephen has also brought a couple of players in from Cobh who got promotion, for Cobh, two years ago so some good experience and a lot of the squad who are there at the moment do have Premier Division experience so I think that’s going to be a big help. Certainly Mick Devine on goal brings an awful lot to it too, you know, there’s a lot of experience there.”
Now that he’s signed Grant will be looking to stake a claim for a place in the starting XI and begin helping the team progress on the pitch. “Oh definitely, I mean, I haven’t been playing in the last year or so at this level but I’m really looking forward to getting back into it and certainly I wouldn’t be going back to play with any team unless I thought that I was going to be playing but yeah personally for me it’s about getting back in now as fast as I can. But again it is going to take a little bit of time I suppose to become accustomed to the way that the guys are playing and the way Stephen has set the team up, so from my own point of view I’m looking to get up to speed as fast as I can and get into the team, definitely.”
About Dean Hayes
Dean covers Waterford United and, due to a challenge from Gareth, writes in an increasingly Gonzo style. Having found himself with a considerable surplus of a culinary herb, Dean founded sister 'site extrathyme.ie some years … View Full Profile