Reynolds in the Jackeen Journal
TACKLING THE HARD MAN REPUTATION
Source: Dublin Daily - Thursday, May 1st 2003 - Journalist: Robert Reid
Alan Reynolds is the midfield general Shamrock Rovers wanted, but he doesn’t want to be labelled as a problem player, Robert Reid discovers. Shamrock Rovers tough man Alan Reynolds will continue to walk a tightrope with referees. The midfield hard man has a reputation for yapping and tackling his way into trouble but he says he will never mend his ways. “Getting stuck in is part and parcel of my job,” said Reynolds. “And if I wasn’t doing my job Liam Buckley would want to know why. But I don’t go out of my way looking for trouble. Unfortunately reputations stick and the fact that I’m Alan Reynolds is a big hindrance at times. I often feel that I’m being picked on because I’m me. I’m not pretending to be an angel or that I’m wronged 99% of the time. But I’m not a nasty so-and-so either. I can’t be fairer than that.” Reynolds claims being a midfielder is an occupational hazard. “It’s a dogfight in the middle of the park, a real battle zone. You’re in there, slap bang in the middle of it. There are tackles flying everywhere. I’d imagine a player like Kevin Hunt gets his fair share of cards as well. As a midfielder you’re under the scrutiny of referees all the time. They’re on your shoulder all the time. If you were to take my competitiveness from me I would only be half the player. There wouldn’t be many job offers for me, put it that way. It’s the only way I can play.” However, Reynolds accepts he makes his own life difficult at times: “Maybe I should buy a muzzle, perhaps I should gag myself on the pitch,” he joked. But picking up silly cards is no laughing matter. However, as he grows older he also grows wiser. “Some of the cards I have received in the past have been silly, especially for the lippy stuff,” he said. “But most referees to be fair, give you a lot of leeway in that respect. They do make allowances. It’s only when you really push the boat out that you find yourself in trouble. But I’m learning to keep quite. It’s not easy because things can get said in the heat of the battle. On occasions it is a case of my reputation preceding me, most definitely. But I am curbing it a bit to the extent that I am no longer diving in and I’m staying on my feet more. I think that’s the key. I know I got a good few card last season but it was a vast improvement on the previous campaign.” Rovers are unbeaten so far this season but three of their four games have ended in draws. On Sunday the Hoops play the early pacesetters Cork City at Richmond Park. But Reynolds denies that his decision to head to Dublin had anything to do with Pat Dolan’s appointment. “I always thought when I started playing football that if you wanted to prove yourself you had to do it in one of the big Dublin clubs,” he said. “And they don’t come much bigger than Rovers, do they? Liam Buckley also said that if I had claims to be one of the best players in the country to come to Dublin and do it with them. I also felt that I needed a new challenge.” Despite being unbeaten Reynolds is not happy with the Hoops start to the campaign. “We’ve got six points but it should be all twelve,” he said. “We should have won the games we drew against Drogheda, St. Pat’s and Bohemians. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t beat Cork but a win would be nice for a change.” With Waterford, another of Reynolds’ old teams, also riding high in the table he has been getting a bit of ribbing from his family and friends. “It was mentioned to me the other day that wouldn’t it be ironic if both Cork and Waterford finished ahead of Rovers this season. Only time will tell if my move to Rovers proves to be a successful one. Fingers crossed it will.” In the meantime, Reynolds is hoping to dish out some capital punishment to Cork on Sunday. “They’re flying right now, they look really, really good, but we’re good enough to beat them,” he said. In contrast Rovers are probably feeling a bit flat after conceding such a late equaliser against Bohemians in Phibsborough last Sunday after appearing to have the points in the bag. “If you had look around the dressing-room after the game you would swear we had lost the game,” he said. “To concede a goal so late in the game was very hard on everyone. I felt we deserved to win, and, to be honest, by more than one goal. But it didn’t happen in the end.”
JUDAS
