It’s an exciting time for all involved with Waterford FC at the moment with the countdown clock ticking every so closer to the opening game of the season when the Blues make the trip to take on Athlone Town in the opening game at the Athlone Town Stadium this evening.
The last number of days has seen players and management take time out of their busy pre-season schedule to meet the supporters of the club, the people that will play a huge part in the club’s future.
Ahead of the Open Training Session held at the RSC for fans on Thursday night last, the club got a request from one of our supporters all the way from Derry to meet his idol, Patrick McClean, and the younger brother of Irish star James took time out to share a few words with the young fan.
“I thought that was a brilliant moment and it’s great to put a smile on the face of a young fan,” said McClean. “It means a lot to the fans as well as the players what’s going on here in Waterford and I’m really looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.
[gdlr_space height=”30px”] [gdlr_quote align=”center” ]“At the minute, I’m settling in well. Training has been very good and I’m happy to be here. When I heard about it all, I was a bit wary to be honest but when I came down here and seen the standard of the player that we’ve signed, I’m really delighted to be here.[/gdlr_quote] [gdlr_space height=”30px”]“I’m looking forward to seen how we get on. There is a lot of expectations that we are going to be promoted but we have to manage that. It’s obviously be pushing for it but we know that we have a battle on our hands so we’ll see how it goes.
McClean was also surprised to be captain in a number of pre-season friendlies. “I’ve settled in very quickly and the lads had me captain the first few games which took me by surprise. I really didn’t know what was going on but you know everyone has been so nice to me and I’m excited for the next nine months or so.
“The first couple of games you would be hoping for a win and hopefully we can go and do that. We won’t be taken anything for granted against Athlone Town. It will be a tough place to go but if we can go away and win it would set us up nicely for the home game against Cabinteely.
“It would be nice to bring home three points against Athlone and get the crowd behind us so we’re just hoping that we can go into the first game of the season and do well. That’s the big thing that we put in a performance that sets down a marker for the season ahead.”
