Tallaght-native Bradley enjoying home comforts | Airtricity League

Tallaght-native Bradley enjoying home comforts

Tallaght-native Stephen Bradley is delighted to be playing in his local neighbourhood with Shamrock Rovers.

The ex-Drogheda United midfielder has been a star performer for the Hoops this season, as they continue their debut campaign in the Tallaght Stadium. Bradley, who hails from Tallaght, says that playing in the stadium has been a fantastic experience for him and the rest of the players.

“It’s just brilliant playing in the stadium, the atmosphere is great – the support we are getting is something else," he said. "Actually that’s not just at home; the away support the team gets is brilliant too. It really does give us a lift. Everywhere I go in Tallaght people are asking me about Rovers and the stadium. Everyone here is just delighted that it has finally opened. It is easily the best stadium in the league as far as I’m concerned.”

Having left Drogheda in order to sign for Falkirk, Bradley's time in Scotland did not work out as planned and he returned home to Ireland without a club. He came close to signing for Rovers when Pat Scully was in charge, but was delighted to finally seal his move to the Hoops when new boss Michael O'Neill contacted him.

“If you talk to any player, they’ll say that all they want to do is train and play," he said. "Being out of the game, even though it was only for a few months, was a nightmare for me. I was going to games, but even that was very hard, knowing you’d only be watching and wouldn’t be out there playing.

"When I came back from Falkirk a few clubs contacted me. And one of the calls I got was from [ex-Rovers manager] Pat Scully, it was a move that really interested me. But then when Pat moved from the club, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

“I was delighted when Michael [O'Neill] rang me, as I was still very interesting in making the move. I’m finding everything at the club great so far. I think we played well in a lot of the games, despite not getting the results. We had a great start at home in the first game at the stadium. But that was followed up with very disappointing results against Bohs and Derry.

"Obviously we want more wins, and not getting them has basically been down to us, as a team, giving away silly goals. But as I said we’ve been playing some good football, and I don’t think we are far off putting a good run together.”

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