WHEN Shane Blaney rocketed a free-kick past Liam Kelly from all of 40 yards in the summer, the Sligo Rovers defender sent the large travelling Motherwell support into a fury. But just as the Fir Park players have, the Irishman is hoping he can soon get the ‘Well faithful to forgive him.
So accomplished were the centre-back’s performances as Rovers shocked Motherwell 3-0 on aggregate in the Conference League qualifiers back in July that the Scottish Premiership strugglers have moved to shore up their own defence by bringing him over the Irish sea.
If it was that game that got him his move, it also led to his new manager, Steven Hammell, getting his job, with predecessor Graham Alexander sacked on the back of the shock European exit.
Blaney is hoping that soon it will be his contribution to an upturn in Motherwell’s form that the Steelmen’s supporters will know him for, though his new teammates were quick to remind him of the misery he once inflicted upon them.
“A couple of them brought it up, aye, and a couple have brought the game up,” Blaney said.
“I don’t want to be chatting about it to them too much, I think it’s still a wound.
“I just thought we got them at a great time, the fact that it was pre-season for them couldn’t have worked better for us. Now, I don’t like chatting about it too much in here.
“[It wasn’t] necessarily awkward, it was just good craic. They were obviously trying to slag me, but it’s all good craic and not anything I’ll be bringing up anyway!”
Though the Motherwell side may not have impressed during those two games in the summer, the place itself left a lasting impression on Blaney, and it has lived up to his expectations since his arrival three weeks ago.
“It was an easy decision to come here,” he said.
“I got contact from the gaffer, he organised me to come over and meet him and his staff and see the place.
“Once I had that day over here, it was plain sailing from there, I really wanted to come over.
“My previous visit here was a big factor as well. I absolutely loved it when I came here.
“I remember finishing the game thinking the atmosphere was class and, whenever I got the interest, I was thinking: ‘I’d love to walk out to that every week.’
“I do really like the pitch, the whole place really. I’m settling in really well. It’s been a very good few weeks. Thankfully we got past January 1st so I could be involved which is great.
“Training has been going well and the lads have been class with me, so it’s all been good.”
Despite Motherwell’s season not markedly improving since that defeat to Sligo that got them off to such a poor start, Blaney hasn’t sensed a lack of confidence either then or now, and he is hoping he can help them kick-start their campaign when they come up against a Hibernian side this afternoon who are also woefully out of form.
“It’s hard to find that when playing against them or make that judgement,” he said. “I had to be around them, be in the changing room.
“The stage we played at, it was pre-season and we knew that coming in. We knew if we could get Motherwell at a good time, it was then. We were mid-season and doing well at the time.
“I just thought it was maybe a bad day or we defended really well. We sat in and tried to soak everything up over the two legs and luckily we got two goals.
“I don’t think I could judge if it was low confidence or anything. But since I’ve been here, there’s a great group of lads. Not a bad one in them.
“The camaraderie in the changing room is brilliant. It’s good craic and I don’t think there’s any low confidence.”
