Richard Brush: ‘The people here in Sligo are so friendly. I was never an outsider.’

Currently in his fourth spell with Sligo Rovers, Birmingham-born goalkeeper Richard Brush insists that it’s not just because he lives in the locality that he keeps re-signing for the Bit O’ Red.

On Coventry City’s books as a teenager, Brush went on loan to Tamworth before brief stays at fellow non-league sides Stafford Rangers and Hednesford Town. During the 2005/06 season Brush was also understudy to Joe Hart at Shrewsbury Town.

“It was a done deal that Joe would be joining Manchester City soon after that,” said Brush when he discussed his career to date recently with extratime.com. “Even then, he was top class. He really was. He was a couple of years younger than me, but had that bit about him and you could tell he was going places.”

A short time with Nuneaton Borough preceded the netminder linking up with League of Ireland outfit Sligo Rovers.

“It came about through a guy who played local football in Birmingham. He was good friends with Sean Connor, who was Sligo Rovers manager at the time. It was mentioned to me if I’d be interested in going over to Ireland. I knew a few Irish boys who were at Coventry, like Conor Kenna, Stephen Quigley and Stephen Rice.

"That Irish contingent were my only knowledge of Irish football. I didn’t have any expectations, big or small, but I knew there must be a half-decent standard. I kind of just jumped on a plane and landed at Knock Airport, which was just a Portakabin (laughs), so from Birmingham to Knock was a bit of a shock, but I’m still here.”

In between his first three stints with Sligo, Brush signed for Shamrock Rovers twice. In addition to collecting winner’s medals for the 2011 Premier Division title, 2013 League of Ireland and Setanta Sports Cups with the Hoops, there was also the small matter of being a part of the first Irish domestic club to reach a European group stage, which Shamrock Rovers achieved during their 2011/12 Europa League campaign.

“I came in about halfway through the season after Alan Mannus had moved on (to St. Johnstone). Then the expectation was that Irish clubs would go no further in Europe. Going over to Belgrade (for the Europa League play-off), we never talked about going through to the next phase.

"Bonuses weren’t even discussed if we were to win over there. We got there, played and ended up winning (2-1 after extra time). In that instant we knew what we’d achieved, but there were no preparations for beyond or a carrot to encourage us to do so.

"When the draw for the group stages were made and you saw the teams you’d be up against (Spurs, PAOK and Rubin Kazan), it then sank in. We were still trying to win the league and look after the bread and butter side of things.”



Following a couple of seasons at Finn Harps and over a decade of League of Ireland football, Richard experienced the Irish League by signing for Ballinamallard United in 2017.

 

“The difference in professionalism when I first went up there was huge. It’s a different type of football. Not so much now, but it was a long-ball type of game. It’s faster up there and players get a lot less time on the ball.

"The technical ability wasn’t quite there, so if pressed hard there was a good chance to regain possession up the field, resulting in a high tempo with plenty of turnovers. In the last few years it has progressed and matured into more of a passing game. A few more teams have gone full-time, so they have more time to work on that side of the game.”

In late 2018, while driving home to Sligo after playing for Cliftonville, Brush suffered a stroke, but thankfully made a full and speedy recovery.

“There was no pressure on me to even think about getting back to playing. I hadn’t even given it a thought about whether it had affected me football-wise because going back wasn’t even on my mind. I got back playing so quickly because it was coming up to the festive period and the goalkeeper who’d replaced me got injured.



"We lost away and I went down to the dressing room afterwards and said to the manager (Barry Gray): ‘It’s been six weeks. If you can get me cleared, I’ll play.’ I went to see the specialist on Christmas Eve and got the all clear, which allowed me to play in the Boxing Day game against Crusaders.

"It was six weeks and one day since it happened. It was a turning point, which got me back to normal.”

After winning every domestic honour with Sligo, the Englishman put pen to paper for a fourth time, in 2021, explaining that it’s not just because he’s now firmly a local.

“The people here in Sligo are so friendly. I was never an outsider, even when I was playing for Shamrock Rovers and still living in Sligo. People would still come up to you on the street and ask how you’re getting on and obviously there’d be a bit of banter. They’d still wish you well.

"There’s a great feeling around the club and friendliness, but if the team isn’t doing well, you’d still get some stick.”

    About Dan Lucey

    Dan Lucey is an interviewer for extraTime.com. He has penned articles for both Cork City and Luton Town’s official programmes.

    Dan has written numerous interviews and was a regular attendee at League … View Full Profile