Waterford FC are delighted to announce the return of Kenny Browne to his home club ahead of the start of the SSE Airtricity League First Division season against Athlone Town on Friday night as he becomes the 20th player to sign for the club to date.
After playing locally with Johnville and Waterford Bohemians, Browne joined the Blues Under 21 set-up before making the step up to the First Team back in 2004. He spent a further five years at the club before joining Sporting Fingal to play in the Premier Division in 2010.
The 30-year-old made a move back to the RSC a year later for his second stint at the club before making the move to St. Patrick’s Athletic in 2012 where he spent a total of four years making over 100 appearances for the Inchicore club.
During his time at the Saints, he won the 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division title and won the 2014 FAI Cup. At the end of the 2015 season, the central defender left to join Cork City where he played a role in their FAI Cup Final success over Dundalk last season.
His decision to return to the Blues for the upcoming season comes as a major boost to the clubs’ promotion hopes and he will be a massive addition to the defence.
Kenny Browne sat down with Waterford FC to talk about the move and his ambitions for the future of the club:
“Waterford is my club, it’s my third stint playing here so I always wanted to get back but if I’m being honest I probably thought I wouldn’t return until next year but it was always my intention to return at some point.
“The commitments of driving to Cork and being away from family forced my hand a little bit but at the same time I wanted to get back, I could see what was happening down here, I could see the calibre of players who have signed, it’s an exciting time to be involved.
“I definitely always wanted to come back but it had to be right for me as well, I wouldn’t come back if I thought we had no chance of winning the league, for me, I’m looking at the bigger picture here. It’s at least a three year project in my eyes, I want to help my club return to where it belongs and compete at the top of the Premier Division.
“The first thing we need to do is get back in the Premier Division. I know it’s easier said than done but I think if we can get up this year, we can be competitive again in the top flight.
“I’m impressed with the squad assembled. I’ve seen a few of the pre-season games and to be fair to the lads, they look very fit, some really good players signed – there’s no doubt about it, Pat and Alan have assembled a Premier Division squad with the likes of Dave Mulcahy, Mark O’Sullivan, Patrick McClean, Sander Puri and Davy McDaid all playing full time in the Premier previously while the likes of Kenny McEvoy, Dean O’Halloran and Derek Daly coming back from England is a further boost. These lads could walk into most teams in the Premier Division.
“I’ve only trained once so far but the standard of training was very good. I was extremely impressed and to be honest, surprised. I wasn’t expecting it to be at that level yet. The facilities at the WIT Arena are as good as you get in this country. The club are approaching it professionally and doing it right.
“Its all about starting well. It’s a completely new side so it may take time for us to gel as a unit but we could be very good if it comes together with the amount of potential throughout the team.
“There’s been a lot of talk done over the past few months in the media and down in Cork, it’s done now I just want to get playing and first things first, three points on Friday. That’s the way I’ll be taking it, game by game now and hopefully get ourselves off to a winning start to give us a boost and push on from there.”
