Letterkenny lad Shane Blaney is continuing to make excellent progress in his career as a professional footballer at League One side Doncaster Rovers, writes Charlie Collins
The young centre-back is currently captaining the club’s Under 23 team and is having an outstanding season.
The club are at home to Leicester City”s Under 21 side in the EFL Trophy 2nd round on Wednesday night , a match Shane could feature in.
He is certainly the main feature in the match programme as he talks about how well he is settled now in South Yorkshire and how happy he is with his form on the pitch.
Shane is the youngest son of Michael and Tina Blaney of Ballaghderg, Letterkenny, brother of Mark of the Central Bar , and of Laura and Rory. Here’s the piece from Wednesday night’s Match programme.
Shane Blaney is pushing for a place in the first team as he continues to produce standout performances for Rovers U23s.
The young Irishman has been at the club for two years, and has admitted that after battling home sickness early on, South Yorkshire now feels like home.
“I think everything is going well, from the start of the season is probably the best run I’ve had when it comes my fitness levels,” he said.
“Rob Lee and James Walsh have worked really hard with me, they’ve given me a lot of strength work to do in the gym which is paying off. It gets me right to be able to train every day and I feel like in every game I’ve played for the Development team this season I have been fairly consistent.
“This is my second full season at the club and I feel settled now, I’m loving it and this current stage is the most at home I’ve felt. I feel like if I keep going in the direction I’m going then I will be fine, I’m confident in my ability it’s just a case of making sure my body is strong enough to cope with the demands.”
His work over the last two seasons has clearly paid off as the centre back was handed the captain’s armband in the summer by U23s manager Gary McSheffrey.
“I’ve always had the leadership qualities and that comes from wearing the captain’s armband at my previous club,” he Blaney added.
“Even if I didn’t have it I would still be the same player and still bark orders to my teammates, it’s nice to have it though and to be leading the boys out.
“It’s a lot better with the U23s this season, everything is going very well and everything seems to be really well structured. The coaching staff have been a breath of fresh air and it’s helped having Gaz with us to get the best out of us.”
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