Centre of excellence

Stuart Clark meets the 21-year-old Wicklow starlet who’s not the first member of his family to tread the hallowed Croke Park turf.
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If any folk or trad acts are wondering why they’re suddenly selling a lot more records in the Greater Birmingham area, it’s all down to Paul McShane.

Not content with being one of West Bromwich Albion’s star performers this season – did you see him in January’s 3-1 drubbing of Leeds United? – the 21-year-old from Kilpedder in County Wicklow has been engaging in some important musical missionary work.
“I’m a massive Wolfe Tones and Dubliners fan, so whenever I can, I stick ‘em on in the team bus,” he says relaxing after a three-hour training session. “The lads gave me a bit of stick about it at first, but now I’ve got them singing along!”
Oh, to hear Johnny Hartson belt out a few verses of ‘The Irish Rover’! McShane has also been treating the Baggies’ normally R’n’B beleaguered ghetto blaster to some choice rock ‘n’ roll.
“I love Oasis, The Kooks, The Stone Roses and Ian Brown’s solo stuff,” he enthuses. “I was too busy as a kid playing football to go to Witnness or Slane, but I’ll have to get to a festival sometime and see all of them live.”
Over to you Denis Desmond/John Reynolds. We’ll return to matters of a West Brom-ian nature in a while, but first there’s the small matter of Wales and Slovakia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. The McShanes are no strangers to Croke Park with Paul’s dad, Sean, playing football of the GAA variety there for Dublin.
“My dad was a steward at Croker after he stopped playing, so he used to sneak me and my brother into the ground and we’d sit in the Hogan Stand. I was there in 1995 when Dublin won the All-Ireland, so I know just how electric the atmosphere can be. I watched the Ireland v France rugby with Andy Keogh and Stephen Ward of Wolves in Stephen’s apartment, and the lining up for the anthems and Hill 16 and everything was amazing.
“I played Gaelic at school and in the Under 10s and 12s for Newtown Mount Kennedy, and then got picked for Wicklow, who I captained a few times. I had to call it a day though when I started going to England for the football, in case I got injured.”
Tony Cascarino observed in his hotpress column that, “If I was tackled heavily I’d roll around for five minutes and demand the magic sponge whereas these Gaelic guys are running around with blood pumping from open wounds.”
Fair comment?
“It’s a tough game but you don’t really notice it until you come over to England and everyone’s saying, ‘Look at the mad Paddys!’” he laughs. “Kevin Doyle played at county level too for Wexford, though being two years older than me, we never squared up to each other.”
While Paul bypassed the League of Ireland by going to Manchester United as a 16-year-old, Kevin Doyle is one of a growing number of lads who’ve hung around and learned their trade with the likes of Cork City and Bohemians.
“That option existing is brilliant – because not everybody has a club coming in for them when they’re at school or wants to leave home at that age. Reading getting Kevin Doyle for £80,000 has to be one of all-time great bargains, and one they’ve repeated with Shane Long, who’s going to be immense for them next season. I don’t know what Wolves paid to get Stephen Ward from Bohs, but that’s looking like money well spent too.”
Indeed, having scored three goals in five games for his new club, Wardy was adjudged to be February’s Championship Player of the Month.
“The other thing that’s well-known in England is the quality of Irish junior football. My goal growing up in Kilpedder was to play for Joey’s (Saint Joseph’s Boys), which thanks to the start I got at Greystones and Newtown I managed to achieve. Through Joey’s I got trials for the Irish team, which is where the scouts noticed me.”
Paul McShane isn’t the only young lad who took Saint Joseph’s “Forward To The Goal” motto to heart.
“There’s John Fitzgerald at Bury, Clive Clarke who’s at Sunderland now after being with Stoke and Kevin O’Connor at Wolves, who’s injured at the moment, but is a really good player.”
He could also have mentioned Toronto FC’s Ronnie O’Brien, Newcastle’s Alan O’Brien, Blackburn’s Alan Judge and a dozen or so other lads who have Joey’s to thank for their professional careers. Massive footballing break or not, there must have been a bit of homesickness involved in 2002 when Paul signed for Manchester United.
“Not when your mum’s over looking after you, like she is at the moment,” he laughs. “My heart was set on Leeds really, but then Man United came in and I thought, ‘I’ll just go for a couple of days and enjoy myself.’ Even when I went there and they were impressed with the way I was training, I still didn’t think I’d sign for Man U because what’s the chance of breaking into a squad that has as many great players as theirs does? They asked me back for a second time, though, and I ended up giving it a shot.”
Despite knocking the 15-a-side football on the head, McShane arrived at Old Trafford with two stress fractures in his back.
“It sounds disastrous now, but it actually worked in my favour because I was able to suss things out without the pressure of having to perform in training,” he reveals. “The physio did such a great job that even though I missed pre-season, I got myself fit and into the side that beat Middlesbrough 3-1 in the FA Youth Cup Final.”
Paul being Irish, I imagine that Roy Keane was at the front-gate with a packet of Tayto to welcome him.
“Er, no!” he chuckles. “Some people portray him as a difficult individual who doesn’t talk with anyone, but he’s really not like that at all. He gave me some good advice as a young lad coming through at the club. The best way to learn from Roy Keane is to watch him being a great professional. He gets on with his job and you get on with yours, which is the attitude to have.”
Was there a welcome talk from Sir Alex?
“There was, but I was so overwhelmed that I really can’t remember what he said to us! Something about being in a man’s world now, and giving it your all because compared to other jobs it’s not that long a career.”
What becomes very relevant with March 24th in mind is the time McShane spent in close proximity to Ryan Giggs. What do you have to do as a defender to keep him under control?
“The key thing is not to dive in on him. If you do, clever and direct player that he is, he’ll skip by you. You’ve got to remain patient, stay on your feet and stop him whipping balls into the area for the forwards to latch onto.”
Looking at the consistency of his United performances this season, it’s hard to believe that Giggsy celebrates his 34th birthday in November.
“That’s because he looks after himself so well. When I was there he was always doing yoga after training, which I imagine is to strengthen the hamstring he’s had problems with. One of the things you notice straight away at Man U is how hard the senior pros work.”
McShane had to get to grips with the 6ft 8in Jan Koller last October when he made his Irish debut against the Czech Republic in Lansdowne. There may have been a few butterflies floating around before kick-off, but his defensive performance was assured enough to bag him the Man of the Match award.
“The first inkling I had that I’d been called up was when Joey O’Brien texted me,” he recalls. “Then I got a phone call from somebody, I’m not sure who, saying, ‘Ireland squad, today.’ I didn’t even know it was being picked then, so it was a big surprise.
“I wasn’t involved in the Cyprus game, but found out the day before that I was in for the Czech Republic. To be honest, I didn’t give Jan Koller too much thought beforehand, ‘cause if you did your head would turn to spaghetti! I’ve played against big strong lads in the Championship like Coventry’s Dele Adabola, so I knew what sort of a night I was in for. Getting Man of the Match was brilliant but, like when you’ve had a stinker, you’ve got to put it out of your mind because the only 90 minutes that matter are the next ones.”
Does Steve Staunton do what Brian Kerr did, and provide the Ireland players with DVDs of their next opponents?
“I haven’t received any, no. There’s a tendency with some managers to over-complicate things when football is actually quite a simple game. Stan’s great with the lads, and let’s us get on and play.”
The euphoria surrounding the Czech game quickly evaporated in San Marino where for eight agonising minutes it looked like Ireland had blown their Euro qualifying chances.
“It was one of those things,” Paul says referring to the X-rated moment when Manuel Marini unexpectedly found himself on the score-sheet. “Football’s full of silly mistakes that you make sure you learn from and then move on.”
Had Stephen Ireland failed to connect with the cross, which broke Sammarinese hearts, Paul McShane was queuing up behind him.
“There were a few of those balls towards the end that I was dying to get on the end of, but it was Stephen who was in the right place and buried the ball. I’ve grown up with him through the Irish under-age teams – he’s 21 like me – and he’s a cracking player.”
Any other promising Irish lads that Paul’s played with, but mightn’t be on our radar yet?
“Darren Gibson was at United with me and is a great midfielder and Darren O’Dea, who I know from the Ireland Under-19s, is class too. Add to that the players who’ve moved to the Championship recently from the Eircom League, and there are going to be a lot of lads knocking on Stan’s door.”
Hopefully having been a part of back-to-back Ireland wins, McShane reunites with his West Brom teammates for March 31st’s visit to Queen’s Park Rangers. It’s obvious talking to him that he’s relishing every moment of the Championship promotion battle.
“After being on loan at Brighton for the season and getting regular first-team football, there was no chance of me going back to play for Manchester United reserves,” Paul reflects. “You see all the big players in front of you like Wes Brown and John O’Shea, who can play full-back as well as centre-half, and know that the only games you’re likely to get are in the Carling Cup. The move when it came was pretty quick. I got a phone call at 11 saying, ‘Be here by 12’, so I packed up as much stuff as I could and jumped into the car. Hopefully now I’ll get my first taste of Premiership football in August.”
And a trip to Switzerland and Austria in June 2008!b