'I'm loving every minute of it': Fitzgerald thrilled as Shamrock Rovers on brink of Euro group stages again

EURO DREAMING: Will Fitzgerald is loving life at Shamrock Rovers: Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

It took Will Fitzgerald just a matter of minutes walking through the door at Shamrock Rovers to vindicate the toughest footballing decision of his career.

Club captain at Sligo Rovers for the last five years, the winger reached the stage at 27 when loyalty clashed with ambition.

Stephen Bradley was only a player at Fitzgerald’s native Limerick when they first met but has gone to lead Shamrock Rovers to four league titles in the last five years.

Once they don’t squander a two-goal lead away to KF Egnatia on Thursday evening, the Hoops will secure European group stage participation for a third year in a row.

That could even be the Europa, rather than Conference, should they overcome Norwegian outfit Lillestrom in next week’s playoff round.

Bradley committed to a domestic record of €75,000 for Sligo to part with their star man and he’s already displayed glimpses of his quality, including last week’s 3-1 first leg win.

“I saw from day one that standards are set here that you don't see at other clubs,” said the former Waterford, Derry City and Sligo player.

“I've been to a few clubs and the standards here , especially player-led, are unbelievable.

“Just the way you greet each other in the mornings.

“Also, there’s the treatment of the staff and volunteers in the building, the way you clean up around the place.

“All these little things might seem trivial but they're what actually wins leagues, titles and trophies.

“I was bred into that from the first few hours and don't want to be the odd one out. I want to help that culture and be part of it.

“I've had to listen to the senior lads to find my feet and try to mix as much as possible.

“It's so professional here and that's exactly what I wanted at this stage in my career. I'm loving every minute of it.”

Bradley expects the Albanian champions to make personnel changes to launch an early assault on chipping away at the Rovers lead. Fitzgerald knows the tie should have been put beyond Egnatia last week but the likes of himself and fellow new recruit, Jonathan Afolabi, will be offered the platform to atone for wasted chances.

“There was a collective disappointment afterwards that we didn't kick on in the second half and maybe have the game finish 4-1, 5-1,” he reflected.

"There's never a European game where you can relax, but we might have been able to relax a tiny bit more if we did come out with a 5-1 result.

“Look, it's still a strong aggregate to carry into this second leg and hopefully we can get the job finished and move on.” Stifling temperatures that greeted the visiting party on arrival in Rrogozhinë shouldn’t be such an issue.

“We got on the bus and the temperature ticker was almost breaking at 44 degrees,” explained Fitzgerald. “Kick off is 9pm so the heat will have reduced drastically.”

Even if Rovers relinquish their lead and exit the Europa League, they’ll have another backdoor route into the Conference League by contesting a playoff.