Orlando offers new lease of life for the return of the Saint

I’m in the away dressing room of the Saputo Stadium and it’s all pretty quiet, sombre. The current occupants, Orlando City SC, have just lost to Montreal Impact in a run-of-the-mill MLS game and the deafening silence says much.

Press access to such a sacred and hallowed space is the done thing in North America but it still feels strange and very awkward. Huddled together in a corner are the local sports reporters, there to grab a few words with any player willing to speak.

They stand and wait patiently as Orlando’s striker Kyle Larin parades around in a jock-strap before chatting. Crouched in another corner, I pretend to be invisible.

It’s all a bit different here, you see.

Sean St Ledger knows that too.

A few days before, he played for Orlando in a US Open Cup game against lower-tier side Charleston Battery. It was a 4-4 thriller and it went to penalties. St Ledger scored his and Orlando made it through. But in the dressing room afterwards, the team were told of an incident that had just taken place close to their hotel. There were very few details so on the way back, players frantically checked their phones for updates. It was then that the magnitude of the Charleston shooting began to sink in.

“We were in a hotel opposite the church where it all happened. Literally half a block away, probably less,” he says.

“There was a police escort to take us back there after the game – it was quite scary, really. Especially because at the time, they hadn’t caught the shooter yet. The hotel had to be checked, all of that. And you’ve seen this stuff on the tv but never think you’d find yourself in the same situation. And you had the families of players and staff back home who were obviously worried.

“It wasn’t as bad for me – my family were in the UK and all asleep. But I just messaged them when I got home to say ‘When you wake up you’re going to see about the Charleston shooting but I’m okay and all the players are okay.’”

For a while, St Ledger wasn’t okay. In the summer of 2014, Leicester were heading for the Premier League but without him. Released after three, injury-ravaged seasons there, he went to the gym, did some bikram yoga and waited for the phone to ring. The summer came and went. And autumn too. Finally, last November, Mick McCarthy brought him to Ipswich. A new start. But St Ledger didn’t see a minute of competitive action and the short-term deal was terminated in March. Finally, after a few auditions in America, a brand-new Major League Soccer franchise, Orlando City SC, came calling.

“I never thought I’d struggle as much as I did. It was certainly a lesson. I hadn’t played in such a long time. I came on trial to DC United in Washington and I thought I did pretty well there and then they didn’t give me a contract and it was just fortunate that we’d played Orlando in a friendly. I knew a couple of the lads here and went on trial. And it was a case of having to prove myself again, which I quite liked.

“I had a three-year contract at Leicester and sometimes you can kind of go through the motions a little bit. It was like when I first got into the Ireland squad and no one heard of me. I was at Preston, a young lad and you’re going through training sessions like they were games. It’s been like that for me at Orlando. I still want to prove that I’m half-decent and that I’m worthy of a starting place.”

It’s been an encouraging debut campaign for St Ledger and the club. Prior to the loss in Montreal, they had gone six games unbeaten. They’re a comfortable mid-table side – lots of room to improve. They’ve got a sprinkling of stardust too in the form of Kaka, the former AC Milan and Real Madrid playmaker. Orlando’s poster-boy and captain, he’s an influential but intimidating presence.

“When you play with someone like Kaka, you just don’t want to embarrass yourself, really” says St Ledger, wryly.

“Considering the talent he’s played alongside, you don’t want him to go home to his wife and say I’m the worst player he’s ever played with.”

Superstar team-mates isn’t the only new thing St Ledger has had to get used to. The relentless travelling is a grind. After finishing in Montreal, the team leaves at 6.30am to catch a flight home. It’s one of the more straightforward commutes for Orlando – a three-hour plane journey. Others are much more arduous.

“We played in San Jose where there was a three-hour time difference and a five and a half hour flight. By the end of it, you’re knackered. Then you’re back in on a Monday because you could have a game on the Wednesday. That side of it, I never really expected. I actually got ill after that week. It was flu-type symptoms but I had ulcers in my mouth and the doctor said it was just from the flying and being run down. I never knew the toll it would take on your body.”

Watching St Ledger against the Impact, he’s solid if unspectacular. He’s sharp and safe and reads the game well. But his steadiness and consistency at club level hasn’t led to an international recall. In fact, since moving to the US, he’s had no contact from anyone involved in the Irish set-up. His last appearance for the side came in a friendly against Poland in 2013.

“It’s not disappointing. He (Martin O’Neill) is focused on getting to the Euros. The lads that are there and who have been part of the squad are worthy of his time. I’m eight hours away on a plane so it’s not easy to keep tabs. I’m sure he’s got people out here. I’m sure Steve Guppy (Ireland coach and chief scout) has contacts.

“All I can do is keep playing well and hopefully word will get back. And if there are injuries in the squad or suspensions and I’m fortunate to get back in, then brilliant.

“That’s just football. It’s the cut-throat reality of it. When you’re needed and wanted, you feel the love. When you’re not, you don’t. And you get on with life. I’m not closing that door. I would like to try and get back in there. But we’ll wait and see what the manager has planned.”