O'Callaghan focused on job at hand

The wait is over as clubs all over the country make their return to Premier Division action this weekend. It has been a long wait. Four months have felt like four years but that wait came to an end for many clubs last night.

Well spare a thought for Limerick FC fans. They have waited 19 years to return to the top table of domestic football in Ireland. They must only wait less than 24 hours though as their wait ends tomorrow.

At 5:15pm in Thomond Park, against their Munster rivals Cork City and beamed in HD to every house in the nation, Limerick FC will be officially back!

Of course Limerick deserve all the hype they get. They have fought their way back into the Airtricity Premier Division and are worthy of their place there.

Looking past the hype however, tomorrow is not just an “occasion” for the club. It’s an opportunity to get their first three points of the season and when Extratime.ie caught up with Limerick FC defender Brian O’Callaghan earlier this week, he was very much focussed with the task at hand and mindful not to get caught up in the “hype”.

“Personally no matter what game it is I try to take each game as it comes, I know it’s a cliché you hear from a lot of footballers but my personal feeling is if you hype things up too much it might get to you.

“So you just have to stick to your usual routine and picture the same things in your head. It can help you not to get overawed by any situation.”

Since his arrival at Thomond Park in January, new manager Stuart Taylor has wasted no time in adding strength, depth and quality to the Limerick FC panel. The former Cork City defender has already noticed a difference that these new signings have brought.

“[There is] definitely higher intensity and higher quality in training. It’s been good.

“It’s been very good for the youngsters. There’s a lot of young lads knocking around the squad. They can pick stuff up and should be learning every training session. It’s only going to improve the club.”

Last season saw Limerick play their league matches in the modest surroundings of Jackman Park, often to less than a thousand people .

This year they have the iconic Thomond Park to call home and they will have to get used to television cameras, bigger crowds, more intense media scrutiny and the obvious step up in standard. O’Callaghan doesn’t see this being a problem.

“It’s a huge step. But the manager has brought in six, seven, eight players that have experienced higher level than the First Division of League of Ireland so I’m sure that they’ll fit straight in and won’t be too over-awed by the step up that the club has made.

“Even in the last four weeks the club has made some giant leaps forward.”

The question remains, would survival alone be considered a successful season for the Shannonsiders?

“It’s a difficult one as there has been a lot of new faces in the squad. First and foremost the club’s more or less in transition into the Premier Division.

“With the quality of players here though, and if everyone gels, it could be a very exciting season for the club.”