Conor Kearns: ‘We're going to give it everything to win this league’

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Andrew Dempsey reports from Tolka Park

Conor Kearns admits winning his first Premier Division title with Shelbourne would mean ‘everything’ to him this week.

The Reds know they only have to match Shamrock Rovers’ result on the final day to claim a first top-flight crown since 2006.

Damien Duff’s side have also found form at the right time with successive wins over Waterford (3-1) and Drogheda United (2-1) in recent weeks.

Though they must go to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday night to see the job through and win the title away to Derry City.

The Candystripes are already out of the title race but will need to win to guarantee European football for next season. The stakes could not be higher for both.

Though it has been a campaign to remember for Kearns and Shelbourne who have defied almost every pre-season prediction regarding them. 

But the former UCD keeper, 26, revealed that the key to Shels’ success has been their ability to focus ‘on the moment’ in recent weeks.

“We've benefited massively from that as a group,” he told extratime.com Voice Notes Podcast on Friday night.

“Colin Hawkins spoke to us (last week) and told us a bit of his story, his journey and his mentality. If there was ever an inspiration and lesson to learn, it was focusing on the moment, the here and the now and what you can control. That's what really resonated with us.



“I think you could see that belief and just how inspired we were to focus on our own task.”

Shels started with a real zip about their play on Friday night against Drogheda United and deservedly found themselves 2-0 up in front of a sold-out Tolka Park.

And while there were nervy moments at the end following Bridel Bosakani’s second-half stunner, Shels held on for a significant victory.

“We had to win the game,” Kearns explained. “We knew that because of Rovers and Derry breathing down our necks before the game. 

“Three points was all that was ever going to work for us and it was always going to be tense and nervy but we won the game. It’s a positive result but we have a massive task next week.”

For Kearns, this is his first title race he has been involved in since winning the 2018 First Division with UCD - when he was coincidentally battling against Shelbourne for the league alongside Finn Harps and Drogheda United.



But this is a completely different world and pressure.

“That UCD side was a freak of a team and we all know that looking back on it now,” he reflected. “But you can lean on those experiences. I think I've leaned on that youthful ignorance that I had back then of just going out and playing the game and enjoying it. 

“Every player has embraced that in the last couple of weeks and realised how lucky we are to be playing football and how hard we worked to get into this position. 

“You just have to enjoy the ride. You can grip the bat too tight but you can only live with regrets if you do that. We're enjoying the ride at the moment and obviously we'll enjoy it a lot more if we can get the job done.”

But there have been doubts too, with Kearns forced to prove some critics wrong upon joining the Tolka Park outfit in 2022 to replace experienced Brendan Clarke at the time.

“I'd be lying if I said there weren't any doubts on my end but the manager, staff and my teammates never showed any doubts in me,” Kearns said, having joined from Galway United. 

“I have an opportunity now to repay them.

“What makes this team so special is that you could look around and say, I don't know if I'd say a team of misfits, but a lot of lads were told they weren't good enough. 

“A lot of lads were let go from other clubs but we believed in ourselves and got ourselves to this point. Whatever happens will happen but we're going to give it everything to win this league.”

So, what would it mean for Kearns to win a Premier Division title?

“It would mean everything,” he replied. “The League of Ireland was my absolute aspiration (as a child). I adored the league and I wanted to win this league for a long time. 

“But I can't get caught up in fantasies, dreams and daydreams. I'm now in the business of it. 

“I'm now in a profession where I have a job to go and do. I won't get caught up in the emotion of it all. If we manage as a group to win this league title, it'll be a nice moment. But I can't dwell on the child inside me too much.”

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