Jamie McGrath is hopeful of visiting new places and cultures for a little while longer as Dundalk prepare for a massive tie against Qarabag in Azerbaijan this evening. The Athboy midfielder along with his teammates arrived on Monday night to a spec
Jamie McGrath is hopeful of visiting new places and cultures for a little while longer as Dundalk prepare for a massive tie against Qarabag in Azerbaijan this evening.
The Athboy midfielder along with his teammates arrived on Monday night to a spectacular light shows from the buildings in downtown Baku. McGrath and his teammates hope to eclipse those lights tonight.
“From the windows, it looks like a lovely city, skyscrapers and obviously the hotel is first class so it really seems like a lovely city.”
This is not the norm for SSE Airtricity League players for fly off to places some 5000km away from Oriel Park. While it’s different in terms of routine, it opens up the possibilities to experience aspects of the game you wouldn’t face in Ireland.
"I think its different to your weekly routine in the League of Ireland, I think its exciting to get out and visit different countries, I know sometimes you only get to see from out the window but you do get a few hours to go out and explore, we will probably do that this afternoon with Sean (Gannon) now.
"You have to embrace it, it's not often you get to go to these countries so you have to be grateful and embrace it. It’s far from a holiday but you get your few hours about and your free time and try and spend it as wisely as you can if there is a sight or two around the hotel you go see it.”
When players go away from home to play in Europe it’s not the country that they remember, its the result they achieved, Dundalk will remember Iceland, Belarus, the Netherlands but do players remember the bad results to?
“You want to remember them because of the results, I don’t remember too much of Cyprus last year - its different to your weekly routine of the League of Ireland, you get to visit different countries, cultures and you get to play against different teams and play against top players that you never played against.
"It’s exciting times the European games and we want to keep them going for as long as we can.”
One of the shifting pendulum swings in the battle of Riga was the penalty shoot out, McGrath had a more than usual wait before he stepped up to take his penalty, has the team been preparing for the long haul in Baku too?
“You have to prepare for it, we have been hitting penalties in the last few days of training, people have been doing their own individual work we will be well prepared for penalties, Gary will have his homework done and we will have our homework done as well overall for all eventualities - you have to be prepared for everything.”
For a player with such technical ability as McGrath, the chance to play in Europe can be seen as an opportunity to showcase an aspect to their game they might not get to do while in a normal league game.
“European games can be not slower tempo but its a case of ‘we have the ball, you have the ball and try and break us down’ which is obviously different from the league.
"In saying you have teams coming to Oriel and they are not ‘parking the bus’ but they make it difficult for us to break down.
"I thought the game the other night was very quick tempo, you wouldn’t get more than two touches on the ball. I think it suits the likes of me and Fats (Patrick McEleney) you maybe do get that extra second on the ball in the final third.”
Coming off the pitch last week there was a real sense of ‘What if?’ from the Dundalk camp, big chances missed from Massey, Duffy and McGrath in the final minutes of the game show that Qarabag will be vulnerable at times, but as the midfielder knows you have to take those chances.
“I don’t know if they will change too much if I am honest, I think we can take great confidence in those last twenty minutes, I think they were nearly there for the taking, we missed including me two to three good chances and that would have been a massive help going out (here).
"We know now that that will give us confidence coming out here that it will give us chances. We were almost to a sense disappointed coming off the pitch the other night which is probably not the talk after playing a big European team but like I said we can take great confidence from that last period that we know we will get chances.”
In 2016, McGrath got a first-hand experience from a supporters point of view of what it means to be a Dundalk fan, little did he know he would sign for the club some six months later.
“Yea I was actually at the Legia game at the Aviva. I think everyone was wishing Dundalk well at the time. It was great to see and it was something you want to experience yourself it was good motivation.
"I got tickets up there on and I was sitting in with the heavies - it was a good experience. Pats were training in the morning so in the evening we were tuned into the TV and watching them.”
Was he in the know that Stephen Kenny was planning on taking the midfielder to Oriel Park?
“I didn’t have a clue at the time, to be honest, but I was looking on at the time envious of the boys out there playing on such a big stage doing the county proud. It’s a dream hopefully to get to that stage one time, once in your career.”
While the surroundings of Baku may be one to relish, McGrath knows as soon as they touch down back to Ireland, domestic matters need to be taken care of if they want Europe to continue they need to keep focused on the league.
"You have to go and win the league, you can just switch it on a few months before Europe. It starts at pre-season and you can to start there and it comes into the summer.
"We went to Spain for another pre-season to get us ready for this period but I think the hard work was done already in pre-season.
"I think the week in Spain, the heat and the tough sessions will stand to us - whatever degrees it's going to be and the humidity. We have to be all guns blazing going into the final stretch of the league as well. We can’t take our eyes away from that.”
Upon leaving for his interview with RTE outside of the hotel McGrath added another European experience to his journal. A slight brush with the law.
While speaking to the national broadcaster the police intervened when the Irish photographer's crew and an RTE reporter tried to take pictures and footage of the Sean Gannon and McGrath on the seafront promenade.
Speaking afterwards Gannon commented: “I nearly had to get bailed out! We were on the promenade and these guys (police) came along.
“I was actually with RTE at the time and I looked around and there was this little miniature police car flying down the promenade that went straight up to Jamie.”
McGrath wasn’t expecting this the day before a game.
“Jamie is a quiet enough lad as it is but I don't think his Azerbaijani is any good! We were nearly getting put in a cell by the looks of it.”
How about that for European match day preparation and out of the norm from League games.
