Football

Rory Gallagher is the right man at the Derry wheel: Conor Glass

Conor Glass was content with his first season back home Picture Margaret McLaughlin.
Conor Glass was content with his first season back home Picture Margaret McLaughlin. Conor Glass was content with his first season back home Picture Margaret McLaughlin.

CONOR Glass has heaped praise on Derry boss Rory Gallagher for encouraging him to become one of the leaders of the Oak Leaf team – and says he doesn’t feel any extra burden of expectation on his shoulders after returning home from Aussie Rules last season.

The Glen man, who was nursing a tight hamstring last week and missed Derry’s Dr McKenna Cup opener with Monaghan, might not be risked in today’s tie with Fermanagh.

Describing his absence against Monaghan as “precautionary”, Glass said: “I pulled up sore in training. I guess the cold weather wouldn’t be too good for it so it’ll actually do me the world of good to get the body right for hopefully the next stage.”

Glass has quickly become a vital cog in the Derry wheel and made a strong impression in his first season back in Gaelic football with club and county.

“From a young age I’ve kind of had that expectation and you just deal with it,” he said.

“As players, you don’t really get caught up in the outside bubble – newspapers and social media – we’ve a job to do on game day and that’s all that matters. I feel as a team we are very well drilled and we don’t focus too much on the external noise.”

On Gallagher’s contribution, Glass said: “Rory’s helped me massively on a personal note. He was my first manager when I arrived back home so he’s invested a lot of time into me and he’s helped me become one of the leaders in the team.

“He’s very good with the younger boys, not only developing them as a footballer but them as people. He’s the right person at the wheel and he’s also showed that over the last couple of years.”

In 2021, Derry clinched their second NFL promotion in three years and face Down in their opening game in Division Two in a fortnight’s time at Owenbeg before their first road trip to Offaly the following week.

It is Gallagher's objective to establish Derry as a top 10 team before moving on to the next challenge.

“We’re just setting out to beat every team in front of us,” said Glass. “Obviously it’s going to be a lot more difficult in Division Two this year but that’s where we want to be at; we want to be playing against those bigger and better teams because that gives us the best chance to go further in Ulster.

“Over the last five years Derry have been playing in a lower division and it’s obviously a big step up to the likes of Armagh, Tyrone and Monaghan. Just playing against better teams every week will give us a better opportunity going into the Championship.”

Glass was relatively content with how he played in his first season with the Derry seniors and was happy that he had the county set-up to turn to after Glen’s agonising Ulster semi-final defeat to Kilcoo before Christmas.

“With Derry we set out and achieved what we wanted to do last year but we got beaten by Donegal [in Ulster]. On a personal note I played my part in the team. If that means defending or trying to score I was happy to do that; it’s whatever the team needs me to do on that day. You want to improve every week.

“As a midfielder, we’re there to get up and down the field, help out in defence and help out on the scoreboard. The more times I can do that I guess the better the team will be.”

The club season was one of incredible highs and bitter lows, but to return home and be part of the first Glen team to win a Derry senior championship was the stuff of dreams for the 24-year-old.

“When I went out to Australia I always had it in my head to come back home at some stage, albeit I didn’t know when. But to come home and win the John McLaughlin in the first year was something pretty special.

“If we had won it when I was in Australia it probably would have been a lot more difficult, so to do it in the first year was a great feeling.

“The good thing about playing for the county is you don’t get much time to think about defeats, you have to move on. Obviously the Kilcoo defeat was a tough one to swallow.

“Those sorts of games can go any way and it was just a matter of who was going to make a mistake first and unfortunately it was us. Hopefully we’ll be back next year. But now I just want to focus on Derry and the season ahead.”