Fahey hoping Pat’s won’t make his Premier move a hard sell
West Ham United have been linked with the 25-year old Dubliner who has already stated his intention of leaving the Stadium of Light. So too have Championship sides Birmingham City and Derby County.
The player himself believes that he may have been a little bit “overpriced” with talk of a €500,000 price tag being bandied about.
“That’s what they told me but they also said they would listen to offers that they felt would be reasonable,” said Fahey yesterday. “They have looked after me but I have repaid them with my performances. They didn’t have to pay any money for me, apart from my wages obviously. I just hope that they don’t put their foot down.”
Fahey was previously on the books at both Arsenal and Aston Villa but played only once for the Villains first team before returning to Ireland, where a spell with Drogheda United has been sandwiched by stints at St Patrick’s Athletic.
His form has been superb the past two seasons, as evidenced by his nomination as one of the PFAI’s players of the year for the second year running and his place on a Premier Division team of the year, dominated by Bohemians who have six representatives.
Should he secure a contract in one of the two highest English divisions he would be following in the footsteps of players like Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and Stephen Ward who have all made a successful transition to such heights from the Irish game.
With so many eircom League sides engulfed in financial difficulties and attendance figures continuing to disappoint, Fahey fears see the bad old days returning whereby all clubs are operating on a part-time basis and players leave on mass for the lower reaches of the English game.
“I could see that. The league at the moment isn’t very stable. Players might even think about going over to lower leagues in England that they wouldn’t have thought about before, just to look after their futures.
“It might bring the league back to (where it was) and it might bring it back to part-time as well. There is a lot of talk about teams going part-time. They have to find their level. They might be overpaying the players and they are not getting good gates. That’s obviously a problem.”
Fahey’s immediate concern is helping St Pat’s secure second spot in the eircom League and putting an end to a three-game losing streak that has Derry City only three points behind.
The two sides have three games to play and meet in Inchicore on Monday evening but both are also in action this evening, with St Patrick’s Athletic entertaining UCD and City making the trip to Dublin to take on Shamrock Rovers.
“We want to get back to winning ways. It would be a disaster if we didn’t get second spot. We will have to play without any fear. Hopefully, we can get the three points.
“If that is with a 1-0 win then fair enough. UCD are already down so they might play the game to win whereas they would usually sit back and defend. It could be an open game.”
Premier Division Player of the Year nominees: Killian Brennan (Bohemian FC), Glen Crowe (Bohemian FC), Keith Fahey (St Patrick’s Athletic), Owen Heary (Bohemian FC), Brian Murphy (Bohemian FC), Mark Quigley (St Patrick’s Athletic).
First Division Player of the Year nominees: David Cassidy (Dundalk), Robbie Doyle (Sporting Fingal), Conor Sinnott (Wexford Youths).
Young Player of the Year nominees: Niall McGinn (Derry City), James O’Shea (Galway United), Mark Quigley (St Patrick’s Athletic).
PFAI First Division Team of the Year 2008: Chris Bennion (Dundalk); David Breen (Waterford United), Damien Brennan (Shelbourne), Kenny Browne; Robbie Clarke, (both Waterford United), David Cassidy (Dundalk), Conor Sinnott (Wexford Youths), Michael Foley (Waterford United), Robbie Doyle (Sporting Fingal); Anthony Flood (Shelbourne), Ronan Byrne (Sporting Fingal).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
