It's not too long ago that Luke Byrne was being advised to hang up his boots.
A string of long-term injuries - including a cruciate tear - meant that he was sidelined for more than half his five-year spell at Shamrock Rovers.
But he battled through, desperate to save his career. And now he is just days away from potentially being the first Shelbourne captain in 22 years to lift the FAI Cup.
As a result of those injuries, Byrne will work harder than anyone else in preparation for Sunday’s Aviva Stadium decider against Derry City.
Every week he throws in extra gym sessions, massages and ice baths on top of the daily grind, just to be ready for another 90 minutes. Or 120, as the case may be on Sunday.
“It’s been tough,” said the 29-year-old. “There were times where you were just wondering.
“I’ve had managers of other clubs telling me to retire, I’ve had people who I knew over the years asking me if I was retiring. That’s when I was 25 or 26.
“At the time it’s tough to hear. It just nearly makes you angry more than anything, because you know there is more in you.
“When I had the amount of injuries I had, you just in a weird way get used to them. Ah here we go again! I know what to do.
“It isn’t a nice place to be, but it helps you get over them. You can focus on yourself, you can focus on the little mini-goals you set.
“When you love football as much as I do, you’ve got no choice but to do the graft and get back, because the thought of not playing football, particularly at that age, would scare the life out of you.”
Luckily for Byrne, the advice to retire didn’t come from medical professionals. So he paid no heed.
“But I was at Rovers for five years and missed more than two and a half years with injury,” he said.
“And that was at a young age. I’m sure people, their natural reaction would be, the older you get the more difficult it would be to stay fit.
“All the injuries I had were different. It’s not like I had one recurring problem.
“I spend a lot of time now recovering. I’ve got a masseuse coming to the house every week, I’d be in ice baths five or six days a week, in the gym four or five days a week.
“So I do more than anyone to stay fit.
“Shels would help facilitate it - memberships for places and stuff like that. But it’s on me and I would do more individual preparation and recovery work than anyone I know.
“But that’s because to get to the level I have to be at on a Friday, I have to do that work.
“I’m not able to get out of the car and get on the pitch and run around, that’s just not my body-type anymore.
“It takes a lot of sacrifice and stuff, but for days like Sunday it’s worth it 10 times over.”
This will be Byrne’s first Cup final - and he is going to make the most of the occasion.
“It’s going to be the biggest day of my career, but really it’s all about winning it,” he said.
“I think I’m at the stage of my career where I can take a step back and enjoy the build-up.
“I’m sure I’ll have a moment before the game where I’ll take it in, but your memories are shaped by the outcome of the game. That’s the reality.”
It’s also an outlook shared by his manager Damien Duff and Shelbourne assistant boss Joey O’Brien.
Two winners who competed at the highest level for country and club, their arrival at Tolka Park last winter was welcomed by Byrne.
He played with the pair at Shamrock Rovers and knew they would bring a winning attitude to Shels - even if it would change his relationship with them.
“The reality is, they are two ex-internationals who have had amazing careers, so we hang on their every word and we try to please them and do exactly as they wish all the time,” said the defender.
“We believe in them, we trust them and we know we can be successful if we carry out what they are asking us to do and if we buy into what they are trying to achieve.
“I think we have done that this season.”
Byrne continued:
“It was something they both said to me individually when they took the job - my relationship with them was going to change. I knew it had to.
“It was made very clear to me early in pre-season when I was getting a few bollockings off Joey O’Brien that there was no special treatment.
“That’s the way I want it to be. I want to buy into their training and their standards as much as the next man in the team.
“Even at 28 or 29, I want to improve as a player and I feel I have done that by listening to them, by getting the odd bollocking off them.
“I still have so much respect for the two of them. They are two people I would really look up to and be influenced by. I have really enjoyed working under them.”
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