John Egan embraces new adventure Brentford

A new season brings new challenges and fresh dreams.

For John Egan, the 2016/17 campaign also brings new surroundings after the Cork man opted to leave League One outfit Gillingham for Championship side Brentford.

Egan’s early impressions of his new club are overwhelmingly positive but the real work begins today, the Bees starting their campaign with a trip to Huddersfield.

“I’ve settled in great, I’ve had a good pre-season.” says the 23-year-old. “It’s a great family club, all the boys are very close and very sound and obviously it’s good having a couple of Irish faces in there like Alan McCormack and Alan Judge.

“Going into a new changing room, it feels like the first day of school when you first come in. But after a few days you get to know people a bit better.”

Egan loved his time at Gillingham but felt the offer of a higher grade of football was too good to pass up.

“I had two fantastic years at Gillingham,” says Egan.

“I played week in, week out — nearly 100 games in two seasons which was brilliant. I had taken to living in Kent, I’d gotten used to it and made some good friends so it was hard in that sense but I always have in my brain that I want to play at the highest level. So when the opportunity to go to Brentford came up it wasn’t that hard a decision.

“Brentford are a good side and they made me feel wanted, and going there and playing in the Championship was obviously the next step for me.”

Egan’s stock was high last May, the defender’s excellent displays for Gillingham earning him a place in the League One team of the season.

Brentford, meanwhile, were ending a season that started badly in style, a final day hammering of today’s opponents securing a seventh win in the last nine games and lifting them to ninth in the table.

When club and player met, Egan was won over by Brentford’s ambition. “They’re a very ambitious club, they made that very clear to me when I met them,” he says. “They’d a lot of positive things to say. Every club in the Championship has one aim: To get to the Premier League. But we have to take it game by game, it’s a tough league, everyone can beat each other so you need consistency. I’ve seen a lot of positive signs and hopefully we can build on pre-season and start well.”

During the summer months, Egan found himself in the role of a fan, glued to Ireland’s Euro 2016 adventure in France.

“I watched the Sweden game at home (in Cork), I was out in Dubai for the second two (Belgium; Italy) and for the France game, I was in England. It’s a pity I couldn’t get over to France but being at home for the Sweden game was great craic. It was great when we beat Italy as well, it was great to see the clips of everyone at home, Washington St closing down and things like that — it was fantastic for the country. A lot of people kind of fell in love with it again.

“It was a really good summer for Irish football.”

Egan wouldn’t have been human if he didn’t think ‘That could be me’ as he watched a new generation of players write their name in Irish soccer history. After all, he’s already been capped at U17, U19, and U21 level. However, asked about the prospect of breaking into the senior team, his reply is emphatic.

“I can’t be looking too far down the line. First and foremost, I need to think about Brentford, think about getting into the team and playing well. If you’re doing well on the pitch, everything else will take care of itself. Obviously, it’s the massive goal of any Irishman to break into the squad and play for your country. I’m no different, but first things first, the club is my bread and butter, I need to do the business on the pitch first.”

Such realism and focus is commendable but Egan’s prospects of international recognition in the not too distant future look good. Egan and Martin O’Neill crossed paths when they were at Sunderland, where the manager was impressed by the defender’s “fantastic attitude”.

Unsurprisingly, Egan is similarly effusive about the Ireland boss. “He was a very good man-manager. I did a pre-season with him before I broke my leg in 2012 and a few months later he left Sunderland. It’s a pity that when I got back from my injury he still wasn’t in charge because I would have loved to have worked with him again. He was really good.”

One particular act of kindness stands out.

“After I broke my leg, I remember going to Darlington hospital and he was there waiting for me at 7am or 8am just to say, ‘You’ll be all right, you’ll come back stronger’. Little things like that you don’t forget.”

That leg break came in the hardest year of Egan’s life.

“2012 was a very tough year. I lost my dad in April that year and later in the year I went on loan to Bradford and I broke my leg in two places.

“That year was very tough to get over but my mam, my family, and my friends were very good to me, we came out of it stronger and I always knew I had the mental strength to get over it.”

Egan’s dad was of course Kerry GAA legend John. His death, aged just 59, was a devastating blow. However, the father’s legacy lives on in his son. “Himself and my mum have been two massive influences,” says Egan.

“My dad always supported me, he always believed in me. As soon as I got offered a contract by Sunderland he was backing me, saying: ‘Go on over’.

“He was always poking me to go over, be a professional and live out my dream.

“When I was at Sunderland he’d come over all the time, he loved it, he loved me playing soccer and it’s just a pity he’s still not with me but I know he’s looking down on me. He instilled a lot of belief in me from a very young age and I never forget the things he said and the advice he gave. His influence on me shows in a lot of ways and I was very lucky to have him.”