Originally Posted by
Brendan Crossan
Rory is entering his fourth season at recently relegated Aston Villa, Ronan is in his second year with cross-town rivals Birmingham City.
Rory started out with local club St Patrick’s before working his way through Cliftonville’s ranks from U11.
After a series of cross-channel trials, Villa signed him – and the former Milk Cup golden boot winner hasn’t looked back.
To put how far Rory Hale has travelled into context, the striker-turned-midfielder’s final game of last season for Villa saw him come up against Arsenal’s midfield metronome Santi Cazorla at the Emirates Stadium in the U21 play-off final.
“Cazorla was my toughest opponent by a mile,” says Rory, who has signed a one-year extension at Villa Park.
“They beat us 3-1. Arsenal had about six first teamers. Cazorla was my opponent the whole game. He’s so two-footed I didn’t know what foot he was going to hit the ball with. But I held my own at times. He was so smart on the ball, he rarely ran anywhere.
“He was in the right place at the right time... The Emirates was the best stadium I’ve played in and the pitch was like a snooker table.”
Rory made most progress under Tim Sherwood during his short spell as Aston Villa manager – and the north Belfast man is hoping new boss Roberto Di Matteo will cast his eye towards the cream of the club’s U21s ahead of the new season.
On Sherwood’s impact, Rory said: “As soon as Sherwood came in he had me up with the first team, and I was still a second year scholarship and the youngest player.
“Sherwood was brilliant with me and it was a shame he got the sack because he was the one that would have brought me through.
“Mentally, he would always give you confidence. If you lost the ball he would encourage you to get back on the ball, whereas another manager might just yell at you.
“His training sessions were excellent, he was just a lively person.”
The fact that Villa suffered relegation from the Premier League last season may see more youth team players given the chance as the Birmingham club starts to rebuild.
“It can go two ways for me,” explained Rory.
“If they want to go straight back up then I can’t see them playing many youngsters every week. [But] Di Matteo has been appointed and he likes to play young players. If you get one shot at it and you play well, he might stick with you.”
As the new season beckons, Rory’s target is to break into the first team reckoning at Villa or secure a loan move to broaden his experience.
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