Retiring Mannus holds European nights closest to his heart 

26-YEAR VETERAN: Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper Alan Mannus poses for a portrait during a Shamrock Rovers media briefing. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Alan Mannus stares at his crooked finger and thinks of Édouard Mendy.

Both goalkeepers suffered the same injury but the 10-year age gap attaches a fatalistic element to his recovery.

An insight into the Chelsea stopper’s comeback is supplied by their physio Fearghal Kerin, the Irishman Mannus keeps in touch with since their time together at Shamrock Rovers and St Johnstone.

“Fearghal told me Mendy came back from the same thing within seven weeks and could have pushed for six," he said.

“Mine didn't happen like that. I don't know if Mendy is exactly the same or how he's managing it now but I find if I catch it in training, it's like you've hit your finger with a hammer.” 

At 41, it’s not quite a hammer-blow.

Mannus had reconciled himself with walking away. He delayed the move by a year, motivated to complete the four-in-row of titles at Rovers.

When he felt pain in his joint from collecting a routine cross at Derry City in May, any residual temptation to prolong the swansong was scotched.

“The surgeon said to me that you're lucky it happened in your last season and not 10 years ago,” he explained.

“His operation removed the bone that broke off and he put pins in so it set right but there's nothing in there to make it move. Injections were getting me through games and that’s not sustainable.

“It could be worse. I'm not complaining about having my first operation at 41. I see 20-year-old goalkeepers having surgery on their knees and shoulders.” 

That perspective is integral to why the Belfast native signs off his career on Friday night with such a decorated career.

The medal he receives at Tallaght after their final game against Sligo Rovers will be his eleventh title on the island of Ireland, the sixth over two spells with the Hoops.

Few outside of Sligo would begrudge him finishing his 285th game for the club with his 128th clean sheet.

Along the way, he added a Scottish Cup winners’ prize, faced AC Milan and Juventus in European competition, and earned nine full caps for Northern Ireland.

Quietly spoken but forceful in personality and presence, he reflects fondly on his 26 years in the game, glad he’ll remain involved in the game, leading the Irish FA’s coach education curriculum in the north.

“I’ve achieved more than I felt I could have done,” he surmises, first brought to Rovers from Linfield by Michael O’Neill in 2009.

“I’ve been fortunate to be here when there’s been success. Every league I’ve been a part of means something for different reasons.

“I most loved the European games. Who am I to ever get the chance to play against people like that, growing up in Belfast, training one night a week when I was 16, getting the chance in my 30s to play against the likes of Del Piero, Ibrahimovic and Donnaruma?” 

He admits England was the one that got away. 

“You’ll always wonder what could have been. Growing up, I thought about the next level. Play in the Scottish Premier League was something I felt I wanted to do and that was brilliant for me. There I felt I could go to the English Championship but it didn’t happen.” 

What he did accomplish was living a glittering era on his return to Tallaght.

His former teammate from the glory O’Neill days, Stephen Bradley, was in charge but goalkeeping blunders blighted his early years until two special talents arrived together in 2018.

An exceptional custodian in Gavin Bazunu was only passing through Rovers at 16 when Mannus and his wife decided on a homecoming.

“The first time I met Gavin, he came over to say: ‘Hi, I’m Gavin, nice to meet you and if you see anything to help me with, just let me know’,” Mannus remembers about Ireland’s No 1, who Manchester City soon forked out an initial €500,000 for.

“I thought that was interesting coming from a 16-year-old. When young goalkeepers ask me about Gavin, as good a goalkeeper he is at everything, his mentality drove everything.

“He was making no matter what but doing it in a way where he’s humble, respectful and has his feet on the ground. That’s why he’s where is.” 

Mannus is content with his destination too, not that a straight line was needed on the journey.