Part-time versus Full-time

I am writing this week’s column on the bus on the way to our rearranged match versus Drogheda due to our FAI Cup semi final in two weeks. Over the past few games we have been struggling to repeat the fast paced performances that have brought us success over the course of the season.

We have conceded more goals over the last three league games than we did in our first ten games of the league campaign. The only ray of sunlight has come in our progressing to the last four in the FAI Cup.

So what has changed? The words tiredness and fatigued are being used to describe our performances, but are these fair assessments of our form? Yes, I think so.

My experience of this year’s season has been in stark contrast to the other nine seasons I have played in the League of Ireland. So what are the differences between part-time football and full-time football?

It has been well documented in this column that I think part-time football is the only way to go for this league to progress. We need to learn from the financial shambles of the past few years, such as Derry, Cork, Rovers, Shels, Drogheda (the list could go on and on) and most recently Bohs.

While semi-professional football seems to be here for the foreseeable future, the stress it puts on the players is tough. I have been working full-time these past twelve months and have found it hard to keep going at times this year.

Getting up at 6.45am, travelling into work and once your day is finished it’s off to training and you don’t get home until 9pm. This is a long hard process and it takes its toll on the body.

On Saturday it was mentioned in the RTE studio that Fingal looked fitter than us toward the end of the game. I think that is the first time in the past 40 odd games that a team has finished stronger than us.

I think it is a great credit to Pete and John Gill that we have been able to keep up with the other full-time teams in the league until now. We have not just kept up with them but we have for the most part, set the pace in the league this year.

So what is the difference between part-time and full-time in terms of preparation for games this season and comparing it to last season?

As a full-time player you would have played Friday, recovery session Saturday followed with a day off on Sunday. Part-time is game Friday, off Saturday recovery Sunday, not much difference.

The Monday is where the difference starts. As a full-time player you get up 8am, off to training between 10am to 12pm, maybe a swim and massage and home for a rest. Quite often you would have a sleep in the afternoon.

Part-time, up at 7.00am, off to work until 5.00pm. Jump in the car and race to get to the training ground for 6pm. Training is light finishing up around 7.45pm and home around 8.30pm.

With the match on the Tuesday as a full-time player, you probably get a sleep in on match day. Then go for a walk in the afternoon, maybe another afternoon nap for an hour and pre-match at 4pm. This results in the player feeling nice and fresh for the match at 7.45pm.

Part-time you are up for work at 7am again. Spend the day dealing with work matters, finish up around 4.30pm and a race across to meet the bus for the trip to Drogheda. Pre-match is something you have either prepared in the morning or picked up on the way. Jump on the bus at 5.30pm and kick off is 7.45pm.

Having described the difference in the preparation from full-time to part-time, I think the group of players at Pats deserve a lot of credit for managing to keep going this year. I am not criticizing people who are saying we are a tired team. I am trying to outline the difference between our preparations when we come up against full-time teams like Fingal so hopefully the pundits will take this into account when they are assessing our season.

Game over, back on the bus at 10.05pm, off home after a tough game which we have won three goals to nil. Delighted we are back to winning ways. Looking forward to our derby game with Bohs on Saturday. Off to bed and a up for work in the morning.