ONE of the best things ever to happen to Cliftonville Football Club was Chris Curran signing for the club in 2014.
One of the best things to ever happen to Chris Curran was Cliftonville signing him.
George McMullan revealed in an interview with The Irish News in 2020 how the modest Cavan man and one of the most potent wingers in the Irish League at the time ended up this far north.
Celebrating their title win at the end of 2012/13 season, the Cliftonville squad went to Santa Ponsa on a team holiday.
Ronan Scannell had mentioned a couple of times to manager Tommy Breslin that Curran, playing for Whitey Anderson’s Ballinamallard United at the time, was one of the best wingers he’d faced all season.
McMullan said: “We were sitting by the pool and somebody said to ‘Bressy’: ‘What’s happening, ‘Bressy’, are you signing Chris Curran or what?’
“So ‘Bressy’ was joking: ‘Get him on the phone and we’ll get it done.’ So ‘Boycie’ or Conor Devlin, who both knew him, rang Chrissy and the phone was handed to ‘Bressy’, and a few minutes later he agreed to sign.
“So, he was signed from Santa Ponsa!”
It’s been a decade of romance between club and player – and the hope is there’s a happily-ever-after twist with Curran, the club captain, lifting the elusive Irish Cup on behalf of the Reds at Windsor Park on Saturday for the first time since 1979.
Like any football career, there are bumps along the way. During Paddy McLaughlin’s time in charge, Curran found himself on the bench quite a lot.
And his status hasn’t changed a great deal under Jim Magilton.
For many Irish League fans, Curran’s lack of game-time over last few seasons is a puzzle.
Which prompts the most obvious question why the Swanlinbar native hasn’t moved to another Irish Premiership club to play more games.
But to ask the question in the first instance is to misunderstand Chris Curran entirely.
You can boil his answer down to one word: loyalty.
“My three-year contract came to an end last season,” he says, “and I wasn’t sure what to do next.
“But when I weighed things up about going to play for another club, or maybe leaving the game – I probably would leave the game because I just couldn’t see myself playing at another football club. Cliftonville is my home.
“Obviously I’ve no issue with players who spend most of their careers at a club and then go to play somewhere else – but I just didn’t think that was for me. That’s what it boils down to.”
A substitute’s role isn’t one any footballer worth their salt wants to get used to or wants to embrace – but how Curran has approached it is instructive for any young footballer in a similar situation.
“It’s a really difficult one because I have the responsibility of being captain of the club and I take that very, very seriously,” Curran says.
“You just have to be a good team-mate. It can be quite difficult because you want to make the manager aware in some way that you’re not happy to be a bit-part player. I don’t think any manager would want players in the squad that don’t want to play every week.
“There’s a hidden understanding between manager and player that you should be disappointed if you’re not playing, and obviously that’s always going to be the way I am and I’m never going to be happy to not start games or not play my part in the team’s success.
“So, it’s a really fine line between having a good attitude, responding to those setbacks but at the same time showing that you are disappointed because that’s who you are as a player and as a person.”
Curran acknowledges that Reds boss Jim Magilton has been “fair” to him this season and has given him more opportunities in preferred midfield positions than under McLaughlin.
The 33-year-old is more at home in the number six or eight role, with time on the wings limited given Magilton’s preference for wing-backs rather than traditional wingers
“I had opportunities in a number of different positions under Paddy – I played centre-mid, I played right wing-back, for example – but I don’t think Jim sees me as a right back or a right wing-back.”
He adds: “To be honest, I’ve had my eyes open over the last couple of years being a substitute and how difficult it can be to be coming on, for loads of reasons.
“It’s so game specific. Seeing the game out makes it difficult to make an impact; it’s more about minimising mistakes.
“On the flip side, it’s probably better to come on in a game that you’re losing – and that’s probably something I shouldn’t say – but you can make an impact, a positive impact on the game and have more of an opportunity to stake a claim moving forward.
“When you’re a substitute, you’re thinking: what does this game need? What role do I have to play? You need focus and concentration and hopefully you don’t cost the team.”
Chris Curran hasn’t any head space to think about lifting the Irish Cup. It’s all about the process and wanting to start against Linfield on Saturday.
Whatever his role turns out to be, you can be sure he will give himself over completely to the needs of the team.