By Ciaran Callan At the age of 19, Pat Hoban took the long drive home alone following his release from Bristol City and set off for Holyhead. On that 250-mile trek across the rugged Welsh roads, the Loughrea native had a lot of time to ponder on
By Ciaran Callan
At the age of 19, Pat Hoban took the long drive home alone following his release from Bristol City and set off for Holyhead. On that 250-mile trek across the rugged Welsh roads, the Loughrea native had a lot of time to ponder on what was going to be the next phase of his career as he set his co-ordinates for home.
Rejection is difficult to take at any age. Everyone experiences the horrible stomach-churching sensation of not being wanted or accepted. Yet, for someone with the ability that Hoban had at the time, a raw talent with a keen eye for goal, it can be harder to take. But that rejection can also be the making of a player and a person. It didn’t break him then and his second experience in England didn’t break his resolve either.
A real testament to his character, in relation to his career, has been Hoban’s self belief, drive and ability to adapt to the ever-changing landscape that exists in the English game. During the course of a long conversation, he provided a real insight to the cruel, unforgiving nature of football at the professional level.
From the outside looking in, it comes across as extremely unfair. For Hoban, in a lot of respects, it has been part of a steep but vital learning curve - one that will stand to him in years to come as he believes he will be better for it now that he is back with Dundalk FC again.
In 2013, the final game of the SSE Airtricity League season was primed to be a winner-takes-all contest between Dundalk and Cork City. Aiming to clinch their first league title since 1995, Hoban was leading the line for Stephen Kenny's side on a night when the old Oriel Park was rocking to its very foundations. Hoban was coming to the end of the best season of his young career - netting 20 league goals - but there was one more obstacle to overcome.
The final away game of the season, some seven days prior, could have seen Dundalk win the title only for an early strike by David Cassidy gave Bray Wanderers a surprising lead. If the score had stayed the same the title would have more that likely been bound for Cork, but early in the second half, in a rain-soaked, mud-trodden Carlisle Grounds after what seemed a relentless siege on the Bray goal, Hoban took a half chance to nestle the ball into the top right hand corner of the net. That moment summed up all what had made him a prolific No 9, it was the goal that effectively kept the title alive.
Dundalk would overcome Cork in that final contest and Hoban was able to cap off a fine campaign in style. Now, he looks back on that period - after three seasons away in England - for motivation to kickstart his second spell with The Lilywhites.
“Obviously Stephen Kenny being at Dundalk was a massive part of the decision [to come back]. To be honest, I just wanted to be happy playing football again, my time in England was a bit frustrating in terms of not getting to play as much as I hoped and not getting the run of games as I hoped, especially last year," said Hoban.
“I always said if I was coming back home it would be to Dundalk, especially if Stephen was there and I was just happy to be back.”
Dundalk is a home away from home for Hoban who settled in, like many of the Dundalk players who moved to the town, very well. The sight of the players in the local Costa coffee shop and walking the streets of the town has been a familiar and welcome sight to both supporters and the people of Dundalk alike, they have become part of the town and its unique fabric.
"I always labelled Dundalk as a town similar to my own Loughrea, it’s just bigger. I settled really well in Dundalk, it's not going to change now. I know a lot of people in town, I have a lot of friends in town, so coming back to Dundalk was never going to be an issue in terms of settling in.
“I always look back to the time in 2013 and 2014 there was a great group of us who used to always go for coffee every day. In the long run you are creating friendships and that stands to you on the pitch. There was a great family feel there and especially the lads who lived in Dundalk.”
As the dust settled and the celebrations subdued on an emphatic season, Hoban packed his bags and secured across the water move to Oxford United, a League Two club under the stewardship of Michael Appleton. The former Manchester United player seemed like the right fit for Hoban and his style of play.
“I joined in November and I thought I would get a break but that didn’t happen, I went straight into training and then I got injured and I was out for two months which wasn’t ideal. Michael Appleton brought me in to play a similar style to Stephen Kenny, in terms of a 4-3-3 formation. When I was out injured results just didn’t go our way so they changed to 4-4-2 and I found it quite hard to adapt to the formation. I was finding myself too far away from goal or doing too much for a defensive role. I found myself as a number 10 and I am definitely not a number 10.”
During his time at Oxford the option came for him to get more opportunities for first-team football with a loan move arranged to Stevenage, who were then managed by Teddy Sheringham. In what seemed like an unfortunate set of circumstances, Sheringham was fired the evening of the very day he secured Hoban's services.
“There were a couple of clubs that wanted to take me on loan and I picked Stevenage and obviously that night, he got the sack! It didn’t change much, the No 2 took over and still liked me as a player but I got injured 30 minutes into my first game and that was it, loan move up," he stated.
With that loan spell coming to an end, Hoban was on the move again, this time to promotion-chasing Grimsby Town, in the National Conference. Grimsby enjoyed the sheer exhilaration of achieving promotion via a play-off in Wembley, a game which Hoban’s deflected goal-bound effort proved priceless.
“My only choice then was to go to the Conference and I went to Grimsby,” reflected Hoban. “I still look back at Grimsby as a very frustrating period of my career, yes I have had the highs of Wembley, getting a shot blocked and I’ll say it was going in, it fell to one of our players, he rounded the keeper and it went in, brilliant.
“But I look at my time at Grimsby as being very tough, in terms of mentally and physically, of how I was living. I was living in a hotel for six months. No one will see this side of football, I was living in a hotel and it was quite difficult to stay at your optimum performance levels. To live 100% correctly as a professional footballer and if I ever go to a football team and they try and stick me in a hotel I’ll just say no.
“I look at Grimsby as a frustrating period but at least I got to achieve something. In that time I had two promotions in one season - one with Oxford and one with Grimsby. I didn’t get to finish the one at Oxford but I played some vital games in that time until January. I scored five goals, I came on and scored equalisers, I came on in games to set up equalisers and I played my part. In one sense it was a good year and in another sense it was a frustrating year."
Following being released by Oxford and Grimsby deciding not to retain his services, Hoban was on the look out for a new club and it came in the form of League Two club Mansfield Town. Once again a change in manager would lead to his fortunes being altered.
“It didn’t affect my confidence as a player, but everything did change when Steve Evans came to the club. He has the achievements behind him of nine promotions, he gets the job done. He liked me at the start but I wasn’t his player, so he got his players in that January and that’s just the way football goes over there. It’s a ruthless game, dog eat dog.”
“I done okay for Mansfield, I scored six goals but barely played any football. My minutes-to-goals [ratio] wasn’t bad, I just didn’t get to play, I found myself in a hard situation to not even been in the squad.”
Hoban got in his car again, he took the long drive home but had anything or everything changed this time from when he was 19?
“I was 100% in a better mindset coming back, I got in the car again and I drove back to Dundalk. The first time I was a young lad, I didn’t know how to take rejection. It was very difficult in terms of a 19-year-old and I didn’t get to achieve anything yet so I didn’t know how to take it. Being told that basically you’re not good enough. But for someone to say this time I am not good enough, I say I know I am 100% good enough," he said.
“I am coming back with a smile on my face because I feel coming back to Dundalk I am a lot happier as a person. What happened in the UK happened, it just didn’t work for me and it happens to a lot of players. You have to take your chance when it comes and if you don’t you don’t. I am coming back with a smile on my face, a better person and I feel I am more experienced this time and I have gained a lot of experience of playing in the UK and I enjoyed my time in the UK.”
Now back in Dundalk the thoughts now focus on a league campaign that will see them try to grasp the title back from Cork City. An exciting season lays ahead as Kenny looks to mount yet another serious title charge. Dundalk newest No 9 will look to emulate the man who has vacated it for Scotland, David McMillan.
“When myself and David [McMillan] were here in 2014, we had a very good year between us I had 24 and he had 15 so that’s 39 goals between two strikers. We had a very good year and I hope to replicate what I done the last time, I feel like I am coming back as a more experienced and a better player.
“I should be in my prime so hopefully I can replicate it. My main aim is that I don’t just concentrate on scoring goals. I never set myself a target for goals, people set targets for me. Some people are basically saying I am finished, others are saying that I will get 30 goals, I have others saying I am not good enough, so I go out to prove people wrong, which I have always done and nothing will change. My main aim is to win trophies with a special group of lads in there.
“Stephen Kenny brings in players who he sees that want to improve each day, in training, every week, every game. Those who will put in the hard yards, the hard inches. He sees traits in people that other managers don’t. It was evident that in my two years at Dundalk that I played my best football with Stephen Kenny.
“There is a lot of reasons why, one is that he put a lot of confidence in me, he gave me the No 9 shirt where people thought when I first walked into the door in 2013 ‘Who is this guy?’. Stephen Kenny had belief in me and Stephen Kenny puts belief in his players and let's them play football and I don’t see any different this time.
“I’m a lot happier coming back and I am in a great frame of mind. I want to win trophies, Stephen wants to win trophies and there is a special group in there and I think we have a great chance.”
