Shiels Reflects on a Lifetime in Irish football
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Monaghan breeds a certain type of individual and to that end a certain mould of player. Nearly 12 years ago Paul Shiels plodded off a muddy surface after another tough, old school training session. On a patch of grass with the rest of the Under 18s, little was he to know that over a decade on he would still be heavily involved in League of Ireland football, having yet to feature at that point. To date Shiels has enjoyed spells with some of the best clubs and coaches in the country with measurable success.
Monaghan born and bred, he spent several years at the club, in his time helping his local side to promotion to the top tier before moving on to Dublin City. After their untimely demise, Shamrock Rovers became his next port of call, where Shiels was involved in the 2006 First Division title-winning campaign under Pat Scully.
In 2007 Dundalk came calling and Shiels was a mainstay as the Lilywhites returned to the Premier Division in 2008. Again, though, there was off-the-field turmoil that resulted in a change at the helm and Shiels found himself cast adrift before becoming sought after by Alan Mathews when he took the reigns down the road in Drogheda, where he currently plies his trade.
Monaghan, though, was where it all started for Shiels, and the Clones man was recruited from an early age. After impressing the dominant school side with his showing for the Clones U10s, they were quick to snap him up. They dominated the Dundalk league, which Shiels ironically feels probably worked out as a hindrance to his development in the long run:
“Winning at a canter, we were naïve enough to think we were very good and didn’t need to train regularly. I think I suffered technically from this lack of training from a young age but that’s just the way it was back then. We were way behind the thinking and the commitment of the Dublin teams who trained maybe two or three times a week.”
Thankfully for soccer in the county, and indeed nationally, attitudes changed and the next generation reaped the rewards:
“I know the Monaghan schoolboy teams that came behind us trained regularly and it’s great to see a few of the local lads getting their chance in England and also international recognition.”
At Monaghan Shiels was one of the lucky few who were asked to step up to the seniors as the U18 season ended.
Many of the young lads drifted off to other codes while others quit altogether due to work commitments. The reserves were the first port of call and it was the start of a steep learning curve, as the midfielder recalls:
“I loved it on this team because I got to play against teams like Shamrock Rovers, which was a great buzz for a young fella who was admittedly still very raw. I also loved being round the older lads too who were very good to me.”
The initial involvement with the 1st team came under Tom O’Connor, but it wasn’t until Billy Bagster became manager that Shiels was utilised from the bench on numerous occasions. From there he became an established player as Bobby Browne took over and produced a promotion-winning side. The training methods he was schooled by changed as Shiels career with Monaghan gradually progressed.
“I was living in Clones as I prepared for the Leaving Cert at the time, so trained a bit at home while the majority of the first team trained in Dublin. It was only when I moved to Dublin for college and started training with the first team that I felt myself improving as a player and understanding the way of the league better.”
The modern day era has seen a watershed in approach, a veritable overhaul of football, as it becomes a way a life; more than just the actual playing. The awareness of proper preparation is to the forefront and it is something that has seen an overall improvement in player’s fitness and the standard in the League of Ireland.
The battle-hardened midfielder believes the modern approach is worlds apart to what a lot of professionals would have known when he first started out:
“I guess the main change from the Bagster era to say Bobby’s [Browne] and today’s in general is the different approaches to football in terms of diet, rest, weights etc. Also, I think we train more now. Back then I think we trained twice a week and a match, whereas now its three or four times a week on top of a match.”
Like so many of his fellow players, Shiels believes that the playing side has left the standard of officiating behind in that regard. Some may say that tough tackling Shiels is slightly biased, having been on the receiving end of his fair share of red cards and suspensions over the duration. However, he is adamant there is not enough flexibility:
“The overall standard of refereeing in the league is way behind. They are a couple of good refs out there but in general it is poor. I understand that they are only human and refs, just like players, can have bad days and make mistakes, but in our league they tend to get the majority of decisions wrong. I just feel they do not fully understand the game and maybe the psychology of players. They try and ref ‘according to the book’ too much instead of just going out to try and ensure a good honest competitive and fair game.”
When it comes to managers, the 29-year-old admits that he finds it hard to single out one as all of his tutors have had their own qualities.
“Bobby Browne was 100% honest and his achievement of getting Monaghan promoted never got enough credit. Dermot Keely was great to work with also and I learned a lot from him. Pat Scully, John Gill and Alan Mathews are all excellent managers and, as I said, all are different with individual strengths.”
One manager Shiels never got to work with was Dundalk’s Sean Connor. After Gill received his marching orders Connor decided to shake up the Dundalk squad and Shiels was not one to be kept on: “Sean hadn’t worked with any of the lads who where there, so he was always going to bring in his own lads. I was disappointed not to be contacted at all. I knew he would change it around, but I never talked to him at all and I felt I could have been treated with a bit more respect than that.” Signing for their arch rivals was not an issue for Shiels as he sees it as part and parcel of how modern day football clubs operate:
“The fans know that in today’s times there is no such thing as a long term contract, so obviously players moving on are a fact of life. Seven of us made the move to the Drogs and I have had no ill will for that.”
Away from football Shiels has managed to incorporate a successful career with a large financial institution, where he now resides as a senior manager. No mean feat when one considers the commitment required on both sides. However, for how long more he can manage it is open to debate, as Shiels admits it’s a tough juggling act:
“I’ll be 30 at the end of this season so I don’t think I have too long left. It’s very difficult constantly trying to juggle a full-time job and the demands of football and I’ve been doing it for the last 12 years. I’ve been very lucky in this regard. Anywhere I’ve worked I’ve always been surrounded by people who had an interest in football and were understanding when it came to me needing time off or having to leave early. Full-time players obviously have a major advantage but LOI is too unpredictable and in too precarious a position these days to be fully relying on it as a sole income.”
He continued on, earmarking a potential date to draw the curtain on his playing days:
“If I’m honest I might have one or maybe two years left and then I’ll pack it in. When I finish, I don’t think I’ll miss the training and that, but I’ll definitely miss the banter with the lads and that side of it. I still enjoy it, but the enjoyment really only comes from winning. I definitely won’t miss the ‘down’ feeling after a bad performance or loss.”
Typically modest and understated, he is a respected player throughout the league and plays down his status as a ‘local boy done good’ from Monaghan. However, he fully intends to give back in some shape or form when he hangs up the boots:
“I’ll probably look to get my coaching badges and then see where that takes me. Maybe not necessarily in the LOI, but surely for my local team back home or a kids team somewhere.”
One thing is for sure - wherever this experienced campaigner takes over there will be no lack of effort accepted. Having enjoyed a sustained period in and around the higher echelons on these shores there is certainly life in the old dog yet. “A few years at least” gives him room for manoeuvre, much to the chagrin of opposing players.
Monaghan born and bred, he spent several years at the club, in his time helping his local side to promotion to the top tier before moving on to Dublin City. After their untimely demise, Shamrock Rovers became his next port of call, where Shiels was involved in the 2006 First Division title-winning campaign under Pat Scully.
In 2007 Dundalk came calling and Shiels was a mainstay as the Lilywhites returned to the Premier Division in 2008. Again, though, there was off-the-field turmoil that resulted in a change at the helm and Shiels found himself cast adrift before becoming sought after by Alan Mathews when he took the reigns down the road in Drogheda, where he currently plies his trade.
Monaghan, though, was where it all started for Shiels, and the Clones man was recruited from an early age. After impressing the dominant school side with his showing for the Clones U10s, they were quick to snap him up. They dominated the Dundalk league, which Shiels ironically feels probably worked out as a hindrance to his development in the long run:
“Winning at a canter, we were naïve enough to think we were very good and didn’t need to train regularly. I think I suffered technically from this lack of training from a young age but that’s just the way it was back then. We were way behind the thinking and the commitment of the Dublin teams who trained maybe two or three times a week.”
Thankfully for soccer in the county, and indeed nationally, attitudes changed and the next generation reaped the rewards:
“I know the Monaghan schoolboy teams that came behind us trained regularly and it’s great to see a few of the local lads getting their chance in England and also international recognition.”
At Monaghan Shiels was one of the lucky few who were asked to step up to the seniors as the U18 season ended.
Many of the young lads drifted off to other codes while others quit altogether due to work commitments. The reserves were the first port of call and it was the start of a steep learning curve, as the midfielder recalls:
“I loved it on this team because I got to play against teams like Shamrock Rovers, which was a great buzz for a young fella who was admittedly still very raw. I also loved being round the older lads too who were very good to me.”
The initial involvement with the 1st team came under Tom O’Connor, but it wasn’t until Billy Bagster became manager that Shiels was utilised from the bench on numerous occasions. From there he became an established player as Bobby Browne took over and produced a promotion-winning side. The training methods he was schooled by changed as Shiels career with Monaghan gradually progressed.
“I was living in Clones as I prepared for the Leaving Cert at the time, so trained a bit at home while the majority of the first team trained in Dublin. It was only when I moved to Dublin for college and started training with the first team that I felt myself improving as a player and understanding the way of the league better.”
The modern day era has seen a watershed in approach, a veritable overhaul of football, as it becomes a way a life; more than just the actual playing. The awareness of proper preparation is to the forefront and it is something that has seen an overall improvement in player’s fitness and the standard in the League of Ireland.
The battle-hardened midfielder believes the modern approach is worlds apart to what a lot of professionals would have known when he first started out:
“I guess the main change from the Bagster era to say Bobby’s [Browne] and today’s in general is the different approaches to football in terms of diet, rest, weights etc. Also, I think we train more now. Back then I think we trained twice a week and a match, whereas now its three or four times a week on top of a match.”
Like so many of his fellow players, Shiels believes that the playing side has left the standard of officiating behind in that regard. Some may say that tough tackling Shiels is slightly biased, having been on the receiving end of his fair share of red cards and suspensions over the duration. However, he is adamant there is not enough flexibility:
“The overall standard of refereeing in the league is way behind. They are a couple of good refs out there but in general it is poor. I understand that they are only human and refs, just like players, can have bad days and make mistakes, but in our league they tend to get the majority of decisions wrong. I just feel they do not fully understand the game and maybe the psychology of players. They try and ref ‘according to the book’ too much instead of just going out to try and ensure a good honest competitive and fair game.”
When it comes to managers, the 29-year-old admits that he finds it hard to single out one as all of his tutors have had their own qualities.
“Bobby Browne was 100% honest and his achievement of getting Monaghan promoted never got enough credit. Dermot Keely was great to work with also and I learned a lot from him. Pat Scully, John Gill and Alan Mathews are all excellent managers and, as I said, all are different with individual strengths.”
One manager Shiels never got to work with was Dundalk’s Sean Connor. After Gill received his marching orders Connor decided to shake up the Dundalk squad and Shiels was not one to be kept on: “Sean hadn’t worked with any of the lads who where there, so he was always going to bring in his own lads. I was disappointed not to be contacted at all. I knew he would change it around, but I never talked to him at all and I felt I could have been treated with a bit more respect than that.” Signing for their arch rivals was not an issue for Shiels as he sees it as part and parcel of how modern day football clubs operate:
“The fans know that in today’s times there is no such thing as a long term contract, so obviously players moving on are a fact of life. Seven of us made the move to the Drogs and I have had no ill will for that.”
Away from football Shiels has managed to incorporate a successful career with a large financial institution, where he now resides as a senior manager. No mean feat when one considers the commitment required on both sides. However, for how long more he can manage it is open to debate, as Shiels admits it’s a tough juggling act:
“I’ll be 30 at the end of this season so I don’t think I have too long left. It’s very difficult constantly trying to juggle a full-time job and the demands of football and I’ve been doing it for the last 12 years. I’ve been very lucky in this regard. Anywhere I’ve worked I’ve always been surrounded by people who had an interest in football and were understanding when it came to me needing time off or having to leave early. Full-time players obviously have a major advantage but LOI is too unpredictable and in too precarious a position these days to be fully relying on it as a sole income.”
He continued on, earmarking a potential date to draw the curtain on his playing days:
“If I’m honest I might have one or maybe two years left and then I’ll pack it in. When I finish, I don’t think I’ll miss the training and that, but I’ll definitely miss the banter with the lads and that side of it. I still enjoy it, but the enjoyment really only comes from winning. I definitely won’t miss the ‘down’ feeling after a bad performance or loss.”
Typically modest and understated, he is a respected player throughout the league and plays down his status as a ‘local boy done good’ from Monaghan. However, he fully intends to give back in some shape or form when he hangs up the boots:
“I’ll probably look to get my coaching badges and then see where that takes me. Maybe not necessarily in the LOI, but surely for my local team back home or a kids team somewhere.”
One thing is for sure - wherever this experienced campaigner takes over there will be no lack of effort accepted. Having enjoyed a sustained period in and around the higher echelons on these shores there is certainly life in the old dog yet. “A few years at least” gives him room for manoeuvre, much to the chagrin of opposing players.
