Latest news with #Matthews
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ex-Celtic ace identifies what Scottish champs and Shamrock Rovers have in common
Adam Matthews and Stephen McPhail played in the same Cardiff City team 17 times during the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons, blissfully unaware they would be reunited at Shamrock Rovers over a decade later. In the meantime, Matthews went on to play for Celtic, winning four SPL titles in-a-row and a Scottish Cup while also enjoying big Champions League nights against the likes of Barcelona, with Messi, Neymar, Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets in their ranks. Matthews later made his Premier League debut with Sunderland, had a spell with Charlton before moving to Cyprus in the summer of 2022 to join Omonia, who were managed at the time by his former Celtic boss Neil Lennon. While his Rovers team-mate Jack Byrne had a frustrating injury-hit spell in Cyprus with rivals APOEL, Matthews played regularly and made over 70 appearances in all competitions, including Europe. But when he left Omonia last summer, the harsh reality of professional football hit home as the phone wasn't ringing with offers - or at least not the right ones. Wales international Matthews ended up training with Carmarthen Town, just to stay fit. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'Obviously it does happen in football,' said the 33-year-old defender yesterday, ahead of tonight's clash with Galway United at Tallaght Stadium. 'It's happened to me before, not for that amount of time, but the older you get, the more you expect it to happen. It was tough, but I just needed to keep myself fit and wait for the opportunity, and thankfully Stephen (McPhail) gave me a ring and this was the opportunity. 'I was training with a team in Wales, a semi-professional team, so I'm thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to keep fit. I did my own stuff as well, but it's not the same as training with a professional team, but you've got to do the best you can and, in the circumstances, I came in pretty fit.' Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley revealed that he moved for Matthews after getting the lowdown directly from ex-Celtic boss Lennon. Bradley said yesterday: 'I just had a good conversation with Neil Lennon as he had him at Celtic and in Cyprus, and he couldn't speak highly enough of him. We did our homework with Stephen McPhail, but when you hear that from someone like Neil it was a no brainer. And when I spoke to Adam's previous managers, all of them said that he's so versatile and can play anywhere quite comfortably.' Matthews made his Rovers debut in the league defeat to Bohemians in front of 33,000 at Aviva Stadium on the opening weekend of the season, but it was bittersweet as he picked up a nasty injury as well as losing the game. He was caught by Rovers goalkeeper Ed McGinty's studs, and ripped open his knee, knocking him back for a number of weeks and making it a stop-start introduction to life in Irish football. But Matthews, whose fiancé has moved over to Ireland with him and commutes to London for work twice a month, is settling into the side in recent weeks with Rovers pressing home their early advantage to pull six points clear at the top. Matthews said yesterday: 'I was out of football for quite a long time, so I was just looking forward to getting back in and this seemed like a good opportunity. It's a very competitive league and the training is really good. We've a good manager who is good tactically, so it's very similar to a lot of the clubs that I've had.' But Matthews has already been struck by one thing at Shamrock Rovers that reminds him of his time at Celtic - an expectation to win every game. At Celtic, a draw or defeat is treated like a catastrophe. And while Rovers were dethroned as champions last year, the Welshman senses a similar vibe with the Hoops. 'It's very similar, 100%,' he said. 'Celtic's a massive, massive team, but you get the same feeling with the fans. You are expected to win every game. Obviously, you can't. Even Celtic don't do that, but it's very similar. We go into every game thinking we can win, and Celtic were the same.' Tonight, Rovers will be looking to at least maintain their six-point lead at the top, if not enhance it after coming from behind to win in Derry last week. And Hoops boss Bradley knows that keeping the Premier Division's top scorer Moses Dyer - nine goals - will be paramount. Bradley said of the New Zealand international: 'He's been excellent. He has scored some good goals but his all-round game has been good. He's scored all types of goals as well, left foot, right foot, ahead, in behind, around the front. 'John Caulfield and Ollie Horgan pick up players that turn out to be really, really good players - and he's another one.' Bradley is hoping that he has unearthed a quality striker, too, in John McGovern, who completed his move to Rovers from Dungannon Swifts this week for an undisclosed fee. The 22-year-old won't be eligible to play until July 1 but Bradley said: 'He has real pace, real power, is both footed, can score all types of goals, can play all different positions. He's one we've watched for a long time in some detail and he's one that we really like. His age profile is brilliant and we think he's going to be really important for us.'
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Celtic were the same' – Adam Matthews compares Shamrock Rovers expectations to Scottish Premiership giants
ADAM MATTHEWS reckons his four years at Celtic were the perfect prep for life at Shamrock Rovers. And 2 Adam Matthews believes Celtic helped prepare him for Shamrock Rovers Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 2 Adam Matthews spent four years in Glasgow Credit: PA:Press Association In After subsequently playing for And ahead of tonight's game with Matthews said: 'Celtic's a massive, massive team, but you get the same feeling with the fans. You are expected to win every game. Read More on Shamrock Rovers 'Obviously, you can't, even 'We go into every game hoping to, well, thinking we can win. Celtic were the same.' The Hoops have made good on their belief lately, winning their last five games to go six points clear at the top of the table. Matthews — who played with Rovers director of football Stephen McPhail at Most read in Sport A knee gash suffered on his debut against Bohemians was not the only reason he had been used more sparingly. Boss Bradley said: 'We had to be careful and had to be slow with him because he'd come in late and he had been inactive for a few months. It was never going to be that he was ready from the start. Shamrock Rovers snap up Northern Ireland Under-21s goal-getter as Stephen Bradley gives exciting verdict 'I spoke to a few of his managers previously and they all raved about him on and off the pitch. I had a good conversation with Neil Lennon about him, he had him in Celtic and in Cyprus and couldn't speak highly enough of him. We'd done our homework with Stephen but then when you hear that from someone like Neil, it was a no-brainer. 'You can see his versatility, what he's brought to us in terms of he started left wing-back up in 'He's played recently like a right wing-back. His quality was never in doubt, obviously with the level he's played at, but he's been brilliant around the group too.' After parting company with Omonia, who he helped win the Cypriot Cup in 2023, Matthews was back in Wales and training with Carmarthen Town before Rovers offered him a route back into full-time football. He said: 'It does happen in football. The older you get, the more you expect that to happen. It was tough but I just needed to keep myself fit and wait for the opportunity, and thankfully Stephen gave me a ring. 'I was training with a team in Bar speaking to former Celtic team-mate Paddy McCourt and ex-Sunderland colleague work . And he is reasonably impressed with Rovers and the League itself. He said: 'You've got a good manager, good tactically, so it's very similar to a lot of the clubs that I've been at to be honest. Obviously the facilities in some of the clubs are a bit better, but at the bigger clubs, you're going to get that. 'Training-wise, I think it's very similar. It's a very competitive league. I think you can see by the league table that anyone can beat anyone. 'But we're on a good run at the minute, created a bit of a gap. Our aim is to try and keep winning games and make the gap bigger.'
The National
5 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Ex-Celtic man makes surprising claim about Rangers' 2012 demise
The Ibrox club's financial implosion led to their demotion to Scottish League Two in 2012. They didn't return to the top flight until 2016, and Matthews thinks Rangers' absence wasn't beneficial for his old team or the Scottish game in general. "I think if you ask anyone, honestly, no one wanted it," he told RecordSport. Read more: "You might speak to some Celtic fans and, yes, they'd be buzzing that Rangers are struggling. "But I don't think it was good for the league or for Scottish football. And I think if you ask any Celtic player, even the most diehard Celtic fan, if they're being honest, they'd rather Rangers in the league because it's a massive game. "It's the one you look forward to the most in the calendar. So, yeah, it was a big miss for us. But at the end of the day, we just had to do our job, and we won that league comfortably. But I think the league's better when Rangers and Celtic are in it." Celtic cruised to the title in the first season after Rangers' demotion. Matthews was asked whether a lack of challenge contributed to some of his old side's lacklustre performances: "Yeah, you'd like to say no, but that probably is in the back of your mind," he said. "There are some other tough games in Scotland. But, like I said, Celtic vs Rangers is the main one. Even when it's Rangers, we played them in the cup a couple of times, and just the atmosphere is what you want to play in front of." Matthews now plies his trade with Shamrock Rovers after departing Celtic in 2015.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
What Celtic squad really thought of Rangers meltdown in 2012 and one-horse league race
The Glasgow rivals went almost three years without playing one another after Gers plunged into financial ruin Adam Matthews admits no Celtic player wanted to see Rangers tumble out of the top-flight in 2012. Gers' financial collapse and subsequent liquidation 13 years ago forced them to start again at the foot of Scottish football. Hoops diehards rejoiced at their bitter rivals' demise but that sentiment wasn't shared inside the Parkhead dressing room. The Glasgow giants were separated for three years before eventually clashing in a League Cup semi-final at Hampden. In an exclusive interview with Record Sport, former Celtic defender Matthews shed light on the mood of the camp at the time by revealing: "I think if you ask anyone, honestly, no one wanted it. "You might speak to some Celtic fans and, yes, they'd be buzzing that Rangers are struggling. "But I don't think it was good for the league or for Scottish football. And I think if you ask any Celtic player, even the most diehard Celtic fan, if they're being honest, they'd rather Rangers in the league because it's a massive game. "It's the one you look forward to the most in the calendar. So, yeah, it was a big miss for us. But at the end of the day, we just had to do our job and we won that league comfortably. But I think the league's better when Rangers and Celtic are in it, just for the Old Firms." Celtic accumulated just 79 points in their first title-winning season without Rangers - the lowest tally for a Scottish champion since the split was introduced in 2000-01. Matthews - now at Shamrock Rovers - confessed Neil Lennon's side put all their eggs in the Champions League basket after motoring into the last 16. Asked if Celts felt they could take their foot off the accelerator and still cruise to the league crown, Matthews said: "Yeah, you'd like to say no, but that probably is in the back of your mind. "There are some other tough games in Scotland. But, like I said, Celtic vs Rangers is the main one. Even when it's Rangers, we played them in the cup a couple of times and just the atmosphere is what you want to play in front of. "So, I don't think we knew we could put our foot off the gas. I think, obviously, doing so well in the Champions League probably affected the league form. "But we weren't happy with that league season, even though we won it. We knew we could have done better. It's just one of those things. We won the league, but at the end of the day, we weren't happy." Whether punters accept it or not, the reality is that football's biggest derby is a unique selling point for both clubs in attracting new signings. Matthews - who won six major honours between 2011 and 2015 at Parkhead - said: "Yeah, obviously that's a massive pull. "I think even if you're just a football fan, nothing to do with Celtic or Rangers, it's one of the games you watch when it's on telly. "You can tell the atmosphere how good it is just from watching it on telly. And you want to play in the big games when you want to become a footballer. "I don't think they get much bigger than Celtic vs Rangers, really. People down south might not realise how big or how much they dislike each other. But yeah, they're mad games. I think I played in four or five and I won three, so not too bad. "The first one was on the bench at Ibrox. We lost 4-2. But even the Celtic fans at Ibrox, when we used to have all behind the goal, I just couldn't wait to get on the pitch." Although Rangers' implosion robbed Matthews of experiencing more derbies, the Welsh right-back considers himself fortunate to have played in an era when there were 7,000 fans in the away end. Asked which stadium he preferred, Matthews added: "I'd say Celtic Park, obviously. If you win the game or you win in the game, the place is absolutely bouncing. "But I think when we play at Ibrox and Celtic used to have all behind the goal, and if you win there, that's some atmosphere there. "Obviously, I think it's ruined a bit now with the amount of fans allowed in the stadium. I think they probably need to go back to that. "I don't know if it will happen. I think it's better for Scottish football and for the Old Firm. Because if you win at Ibrox with the fans all behind the goal, it's a mad atmosphere." Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Former Celtic star reveals he spoke to ex-boss about Parkhead return
The full-back, who joined the club in 2011 from Cardiff, spent four years at Parkhead, making 150 appearances and winning four league titles. He was part of the squad that defeated Barcelona and reached the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2012/13 season. Read more: He left Celtic for Sunderland in 2015 and went on to play for Bristol City, Charlton Athletic, and Omonia Nicosia before joining Shamrock Rovers. However, Matthews could have made a return to Celtic during Neil Lennon's second stint as manager, which began in 2019 after Brendan Rodgers' departure. Matthews told RecordSport: "There was talk of it [a return] when Lennon went back. "I spoke to him a couple of times about it and nothing materialised from it, really. "But I would have loved to have the opportunity to go back, but it didn't happen. "I've been up a couple of times to watch some games and watch them every time they're on TV. "So, I'm a fan now. "So, that's better than being nothing." Reflecting on his time at Celtic, Matthews said: "The best moments of my career have definitely come at Celtic. "The group of boys, we all got on well. "The fans... It's just a different club. "You don't realise unless you either support the team or play for the team, you don't realise how special that club is. "I loved every minute of it."
