4 days ago
No stopping Amond as in-form Waterford striker plans to keep going into 40s
Evergreen Waterford striker Pádraig Amond believes he's capable of prolonging his career beyond the 40-year-old mark.
There's still plenty of verve left in the 37-year-old judging by his goalscoring prowess. His first season back in the League of Ireland following 13 years abroad ended with being joint-top scorer.
Already this season the Carlowman is within two of that 14-goal Premier Division haul – earning the latest Soccer Writers' Ireland Player of the Month.
And yet it's the allure of silverware that drives him more than personal objectives.
His Waterford side face Cork City at Turner's Cross to decide which of the Munster rivals secure a spot in the FAI Cup quarter-finals.
Having within their strikeforce a player who scored against Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Middlesbrough in the English FAI Cup will always give them a chance.
It's been 45 years since the Blues last won the Blue Riband. Amond played a part in his previous LOI club Sligo Rovers lifting the 2010 trophy by featuring up to the last-16 stage.
'I think it goes down as I've won it - but I didn't,' he clarifies. 'I do want to win it before I retire. So in the next five years.' That would bring him up to 42.
Jason Byrne made it to 39 in the pursuit of Brendan Bradley's all-time goals record but Amond is feeling physically and mentally equipped to extend his playing days.
'I don't see why not,' he says when asked if hitting the 40 barrier is realistic.
'I'm playing every minute of every game now and I don't feel sore after games. Ten years ago I did, which is funny.'
There's no magical formula to his longevity, such as yoga or pilates. Being chased around the house by his young son and daughter appears to be the latest formula.
'I tried all of the different things and they just used to hurt me,' he confesses about alternative training methods.
'What we did was we looked at specific things. The gym sessions are modified, so too the recovery sessions for myself but I train every day.
'The only time I don't train is when they basically force me not to train. So I'll constantly be like, 'I want to train, I want to train'. And I've said this to our S&C coach here, Darragh Mulcahy, who's brilliant. He said the day I tell you I'm sore, you'll know I'm sore.'
Another contributor to his armoury is the changed season since returning to Ireland.
'I know it might sound silly but I find the League of Ireland better than England because there's fewer games,' he admits.
'Each season, there were 55-plus games across all competitions and loads of travel whereas over here there's 36 league games. Five games wins you the Cup.'
That's where his focus is. Under John Coleman and his assistant Danny Ventre, a former team of Amond's at Sligo, Waterford have moved away from relegation danger.
They can concentrate on delving deep into the competition, a potential springboard in the eyes of their top scorer.
'I was saying to Danny recently that our Waterford team are in a similar position to where Sligo were before winning the Cup in 2010,' he reasons.
'From avoiding the drop the previous, under Paul Cook all of a sudden a couple of the players were coming in across from the UK and they'd built a real good camaraderie around everyone.
'Beaten in the 2009 FAI Cup final, the team then won two Cups in 2010, the FAI Cup the following year, league in 2012 and the FAI Cup again 2013.
'I'm not saying we're going to win the league in the next three years but you've got to look at these competitions as a great way of success.
'You can be brilliant in most of the 36 league games and still miss out on the last day for a place in Europe.
'Winning the FAI Cup is bigger this year too by qualifying for the Europa League and all the money that brings to the club.
'We saw how the FAI Cup win catapulted Drogheda United into the brilliant league form they've shown this year. It's just about getting that opportunity and taking that chance when it comes.'
Cork City beware.
