Shane Long tells JOE about his Premier League aspirations, trips to Semple Stadium and avoiding the need for super-injunctions.
By William Costello
Shane Long, the young man from Tipperary, is a natural born high achiever. By the age of 18 he’d starred in consecutive Munster minor hurling finals against Cork, scoring 2-1 in each game, before taking up an offer from Pat Dolan to play socer for Cork City in the summer of 2004.
After only a year at Turner’s Cross and the departure of Dolan, Reading offered him a move as part of the deal that took Kevin Doyle to England – and Long has been at the Madejski Stadium ever since.
He has excelled at Reading, among his highlights the 2010 FA Cup third round replay match against Liverpool where Long came off the bench to earn a 93rd minute penalty that brought the game to extra time, before scoring the winning header in the 100th minute in front of the Kop.
Away from the pitch, and following the death of his father, his mother Anne was a grounding influence for the young star, living with him and ensuring that he kept his feet on the ground.
When Long earned his second Republic of Ireland cap as a substitute against Slovakia on 28 March 2007 he became the first person to play both hurling and soccer in Croke Park. Since then he’s enjoyed an extended run in the Irish team, making his presence felt in the Euro 2012 qualifying games against Russia and Slovakia: scoring against Russia in Dublin and putting in a Man of the Match performance in the 1-1 draw in Zilina.
Shane finds the time to support a charity. In his limited free time he actively supports PREDA, a Philippine human rights and social development organization working for 34 years through fair trade practices to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in society overcome injustice and poverty. Shane appears in a calendar along with international team mate Greg Cunningham and other notable celebrities, including Damien Dempsey and Imelda May.
But this week the attention is focused squarely on Monday’s Championship play-off final against Swansea, when he will bid to help Reading back into the Premier League.
JOE: Shane, how’s the form? Things are going extremely well for you at the minute, so will we be seeing you in the Premier League next season?
Shane: Hopefully. The perfect scenario is to go to Wembely and get promoted with Reading. Every footballer wants to take their career to the next level and the Premier League is the next level for me.
JOE: Which begs the question, if Reading don’t gain promotion will you stay with them?
Shane: I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. If the club receive an offer they will have to think about it and if they decide to sell me I’ll have to go. It’d be nice to go to a club with history and the possibility of winning medals, but to be honest I’m not thinking past Wembley at the minute.
JOE: Are you nervous?
Shane: More excited than nervous. Three months back we were 12th and dreaming of the playoffs, then we were dreaming of Wembley and now we’re 90 minutes away from the pinnacle of a footballing career.
JOE: If it goes to the dreaded shoot out, will you be one to step up?
Shane: Definitely. I’ve taken a few pens and I’ll do well under pressure.
JOE: If you score against Swansea will you give some kind of coded celebration to us here at JOE.ie?
Shane: People always slag me about my celebrations. Mostly I just give a bit of a roar. If you don’t mind I’ll just try and concentrate on scoring goals.
JOE: Any time we see you play for Ireland you seem to play as a man inspired. Do you think you can make the position up front your own?
Shane: I’d like to think so. I think I’ve done well but still there’s Robbie and Kevin standing in my way. I know that whenever I do get a chance I have to work hard to impress. There’s also Jon Walters and Simon Cox now, so there’s lots of competition for places.
JOE: People have suggested that you should be given a chance on the wing for Ireland. Is this something you would be open to and think would work well?
Shane: To be honest I’d play in goal for Ireland if the boss asked me. My pace might work on the wing but we have good wingers too, remember.
JOE: In 2008 you got in trouble for throwing your shirt into the crowd in frustration during a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. It’s that type of temper/fire that endears you to the Irish fans, do you think you still have that?
Shane: That was a big misunderstanding, I was just frustrated at my own performance, not at being substituted. It got blown out of proportion. I expect the best of myself and when I don’t meet my own standards I don’t react well.
JOE: What do you make of all this hassle about footballers having affairs and super-injunctions? Is it a problem that the modern day footballer faces, women trying to nab you to sell a story?
Shane: It’s definitely a problem. You could be the most genuine person ever, but if one person says something which may not be true, then your whole image is tarnished. I just hope nothing bad ever comes out about me. I do my best to stay out of trouble.
JOE: Who’s the best player you have ever come up against?
Shane: Vincent Kompany is the best all rounder. Strong, quick and reads the game well. He’s young too.
JOE: And who is the best player you have ever played alongside?
Shane: I’d have to say Kevin Doyle as a strike partner, he works hard for me and I try and return the favour, we set each other up at Reading for a few goals. I’d have to say Kevin.
JOE: What would you regard as the highlight of your career, thus far?
Shane: Getting promoted to the Premier League in 2006. It was my first year over. I came over with nothing to lose, I came on as a substitute and scored two goals at only 18, it was a great feeling. The best memories are when you’re young. I’m hoping that the Wembley play-off against Swansea will provide me with a great memory to cherish in the future.
JOE: Shane, we must ask you about Stephen Ireland? Do you think there’s a chance we will see him in Irish colours again? What needs to change to make that possible?
Shane: He’s obviously a gifted player. I think it’s up to him, he has his own reasons for not playing for the country and who are we to judge? I know him, he’s a nice fella and he wouldn’t make a decision like that without a genuine reason of his own. I’d like to have him back. He’s a personable type of lad. But at the end of the day you can’t force him to play.
JOE: You are the only player to ever play hurling and international football at Croke Park. Do you ever miss playing hurling?
Shane: It’s a cool record to have, and it’s a massive honour. It was third time lucky in Croke Park for me – I lost the first two hurling finals. I do try and train with my local hurling club when I go back home in the summer. It’s good to keep up fitness and good to keep my touch.
Playing GAA requires a different type of fitness to what I normally train for. GAA players are a lot fitter than we give them credit for. Over in England people see hurling as a vicious game but I’ve got more injuries playing soccer than I ever did playing hurling. I love it like.
JOE: You’ve played in some top stadiums, but do any compare to Croke Park on an All Ireland Final day?
Shane: Yes. Semple Stadium on Munster Final day. Being a Tipp lad it’s where everyone wants to play. In terms of soccer, Anfield. You walk down the tunnel, players are touching the crest on the wall and it really does make the hairs stand on the back of your neck.
JOE: Your father passed away just as you were at the start of your footballing career, did you find it hard to get back out on the pitch after that?
Shane: No, it was the opposite really, sport helped me deal with it. My whole life has been built around sport, I think on the pitch you forget about life’s problems and enjoy yourself.
JOE: When asked what he would be if he wasn’t a professional footballer, Peter Crouch responded, “a virgin”. What would you be doing if you weren’t playing professional football?
Shane: I’ll be more serious than Crouch and say hurling. I’d have hoped to play for Tipp and win a few medals doing that. I never really considered anything other than football when I was at school, though.
JOE: In amongst your hectic schedule you’ve found time to promote the charity PREDA: why did you choose this particular charity to support and how did you get involved?
Shane: It was my mum really that made me aware of it, she sent over a DVD of the impoverished children. It’s something that doesn’t really hit home until you see it with your own eyes. I wanted to help in any way I could and at the moment it’s easy for me to help raise awareness by having a few pictures taken of me for their calendar. I’d like to help in a bit more of a hands-on manner in the future. It’s nice to know you’re helping someone somewhere.
You can find out more about PREDA here
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