No final farewell for Mark

THERE may be plenty of young blood in the ranks of the St Patrick’s Athletic team which will play Derry City in the FAI Cup final on Sunday but manager John McDonnell has also ensured that his squad is seasoned with a sprinkling of wise old heads.

And there is none more experienced in the unique demands of cup final day than Mark Rutherford, the veteran winger whose move from Shamrock Rovers to Pats at the start of the season means that he has now played for all four of Dublin’s top clubs.

“If I play this Sunday it will be my eighth final,” he says. “I’m 34 now and, although I knew that joining St Pats we had a chance of doing something this season, I didn’t really think I’d get to play in another final.

“When I look back years ago to when I played my first final at 21 for Shelbourne, I remember chatting to Mick Neville and he was playing his eighth or ninth final, and I was thinking, God, how could you play so many finals? And now I’m catching up with him.”

Rutherford already has four cup winner’s medals to his name, three with Shels and one with Bohemians, but he has yet to score in a final, something he would dearly love to put right on Sunday. And, as he reflects on a long career in the Irish domestic game, he is well-placed to offer an overview of how it has changed over the years.

“It’s changed a lot,” he says. “There have been a lot of young Irish players coming back from England and that’s brought up the quality of the league. Fitness levels are much higher, more teams are full-time and the standard of the pitches has improved. Years ago the muck used to be up to your ankles and it was hard to pass the ball.

“But especially with summer soccer, things have improved an awful lot. There are a lot of footballing teams in the league now who like to keep the ball on the ground. It’s not all long ball and St Pats are one of the teams that likes to play football. We have good midfielders who like to get the ball out to the wide players — and Lansdowne Road should suit that style as well.”

In the twilight of his career, Birmingham-born Rutherford is already planning his life after football. Though he plans to take his coaching badges when he has the time, the priority off the pitch for now is completing a post-graduate course in business to add to the degree he has already secured in software systems. After that, any free time he has is taken up with his partner Melanie and their three-year-old twin daughters, Naoise and Holly. Melanie originally hails from Cork and Mark reveals that a move to the southern capital is likely for the family.

But before all that there’s the small matter of a cup final which could also be the out-of-contract player’s last game for the Inchicore club. Not that Rutherford is planning to retire yet.

“It could be my final game for Pats but I hope it’s not the final game of my career,” he says. “I feel as fit as I did ten years ago so, if not St Pats, I hope I’ll be playing with another League of Ireland team next season.”