New Sligo Rovers loanee Sean McHale says he isn’t here to just make up the numbers after the Meath native was confirmed as Bit O’Red player on Sunday afternoon.
The 20-year-old Dunboyne native sealed a deal which has been a while in the making, after the centre-half moved on loan from St Patrick’s Athletic until the end of the current season.
McHale, an Irish underage international, arrives at the Showgrounds seeking top flight experience after two years on loan in the First Division.
He’ll be playing under new manager John Russell, a long time fan of the former Shelbourne, Wexford and Dundalk player who is also a talented gaelic footballer.
“I’ve met with John a few times and we’ve had some great conversations. I’m delighted to be here now and am ready to get playing”, Sean tells sligorovers.com.
“I’ve been on loan the last two seasons so when Rovers came in for me, I thought this is the ideal place to go, to develop and play. It’s important to choose which club you go to so Sligo for me, was the ideal place to go.
“I spoke to a few lads who were here over the last few years and they told me enough good things about Rovers and Sligo and that was all I needed. I’m moving to Sligo now and it’s a new experience for me and I can’t wait to get going with it.”
A serious ankle injury curtailed Sean’s time at Dundalk last season in an FAI Cup game against Rovers at Oriel Park last July. Two months later, McHale underwent surgery on several ruptured ligaments but is now excited about getting back on the pitch under the tutelage of Russell.
“John has a proven track record of bringing players through, especially young ones”, he continues.
“He gives them game time and trusts them and that makes it a really attractive proposition for me. You cannot beat gaining first team experience. It’s invaluable.
“I’m here to get game time but also get results for Sligo Rovers. We need to aim for European football at the end of the year and we’re good enough to do that.
“In the First Division, it feels like there’s a lot of defending to do in games so as a centre back it was great for me. It was all about gaining experience and going through different types of experiences in games. Even with the injury, I learned a lot in terms of what I need to do to be a professional football player.”
Rovers had aimed to bring McHale in on a full-time basis over the past number of months, but an agreement could not be reached with his parent club. However, Russell is happy to get his man as he prepares for the one hundredth edition of the Connacht derby against Galway, this coming Friday.
“He’s been on my radar for a while”, Russell reveals.
“We tried to get Sean in permanently over the winter but we couldn’t get a deal done unfortunately.
“We’ve had an injury at centre half so the move to get Sean in was accelerated slightly by that.
“He’s a big boy, a natural defender with a left foot and I feel he’s one of the best young defenders in the country. I saw a lot of him when he was at Wexford and Dundalk before he got injured and he’s got huge potential. We’re glad that he’ll hopefully realise that potential here at the Showgrounds.”
David Goulden