A CHAT WITH Brandon Kavanagh takes you to places you might not expect.
Just like on the pitch, the tenacious and technically gifted St Patrick’s Athletic midfielder knows there is no harm in keeping you guessing.
“Move the same way or in the same place, do the same thing with the ball all the time and you become predictable, you can’t let your opponent get comfortable,” he says.
That is part of the reason how we somehow end up talking about his shower habits.
“I’m not sure why I’m saying it, but I’ll be standing there waiting for the screen door to steam up and that’s when I’ll start drawing out little formations,” he says.
“I’ll have a picture in my head and then use the steam to draw where I can be on the pitch and what I can do in certain areas of the pitch, I’ve always had that thought process. I’m football obsessed.”
So much so that he got his girlfriend to show him how to use one of the features on the messaging app Snapchat. “You take a picture and can then use all these different emojis by dragging them around the screen. I use it as a tactics board so I can move them around and get different pictures in my head.
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“I’ve only started doing that one a couple of times, so if I’m watching on TV, I’ll move things around on the screen on Snapchat as I’m watching the game, trying to understand why something is happening or what else could happen, trying to find the spaces.”
It’s no surprise that Kavanagh admits he would like to be a manager, but he doesn’t want to get too consumed by that idea just yet. Tee-total and fond of a pot of tea, there is enough to occupy his mind to ensure he fulfils the potential that it seems he is on the cusp of realising under the guidance of manager Stephen Kenny.
“He knows how to prod me, how to get me going,” Kavanagh says.
He is also still in touch with his Under-13 coach from St Joseph’s Boys, and the mantra laid down by Mick Brown during those formative years have formed the bedrock of a career that is beginning to flourish.
“Never drop your standards, that was the first time I heard that in football,” he says. “Never give in, work hard and believe you can make a difference.”
That Joey’s side dominated the schoolboy scene in Ireland for a couple of years and several members of it are currently forging a path in the professional game. Joe Redmond is Kavanagh’s captain at Pat’s, Andy Lyons is with Blackpool, Jonathan Afolabi is on loan with SC Cambuur from Kortrijk in the Belgian Pro League, while Promise Omochere is at Bristol Rovers.
Ryan Burke is also now a rival at Waterford and last Friday he watched his old pal curl in a 90th-minute free kick to snatch a 2-1 victory after creating the equaliser moments beforehand.
“I feel like I can be the one to grab a game by the scruff of the neck,” he says.
“That’s not just being cocky or thinking I’m the best player, it’s just that I have more trust and belief in myself that those moments will come in games, and I’ll be ready to take them.”
The 24-year-old, who first emerged with Shamrock Rovers before joining Derry City and then arriving at Richmond Park in 2023, is at a pivotal stage of his life both on and off the pitch.
No longer the young pup learning the ropes in the League of Ireland, he’s been around for eight years now and is central to a St Pat’s team that is currently top of the Premier Division and faces champions Shelbourne tomorrow looking to lay down a marker at a sold-out Richmond Park.
“I feel that, I want to be the one people look to for us to win a game. I want to have something to prove to people, I want to be going out on the pitch proving people wrong,” he says.
The comparisons with Wes Hoolohan are obvious because of style and stature, but also strength of character. “I’ve hard to work harder on the other side of the game, of course, being part of the team unit and covering the ground around the pitch. I’m doing that over the last year and there is no hiding place in midfield. Everyone can see what you do.
“I know that I have to affect games, and becoming more effective and consistent comes from that self-belief, but that only comes when you are playing and with experience, being involved in big moments.”
Kavanagh reflects on his younger days, entering the League of Ireland after trials with the likes of Birmingham City, Southampton, Brighton and Sheffield United, and when chasing the highs in games would lead to anxiety in his performances and also in the build up to games.
Brandon Kavanagh takes a shot. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“You want that feeling of scoring or creating a goal to stay with you because you know when the next week comes around you’ve to do it all over again and you wonder how you will do it? How will you perform? You want that feeling of excitement to stay because you don’t know if it will be the same again, so you want to hold onto it.
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“Then as you get more experience that changes, it’s easier to keep your confidence. It’s not that you go hiding in games but you stay out of your own head when maybe it’s not going your way, you stay in the game and don’t drift away. You have to overcome the negative thoughts in your own head that something won’t happen for you and be ready to take that moment.”
Delivering a league title for St Pat’s would be extra special given it was the club he used to support growing up in Crumlin. “That’s cause of my Grandad (Pat). He’s a huge Pat’s fan. He still is. He’ll be there on Friday. When I was younger I’d go with him and my older brother, then he started going to Rovers with his mates so when they played each other I’d be with my Grandad, and my brother would be in with Rovers.
“I loved going. My Grandad would fill up an empty Coke bottle with a can of Guinness and sneak it in to watch matches. He said it helped for the nerves.”
There will be plenty of nervous energy around Richmond Park tomorrow, but Kavanagh is now in a place where he is proving capable of delivering those moments of class through clarity.
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Tactics in the shower and on Snapchat: Obsession fuels Brandon Kavanagh's League of Ireland rise
A CHAT WITH Brandon Kavanagh takes you to places you might not expect.
Just like on the pitch, the tenacious and technically gifted St Patrick’s Athletic midfielder knows there is no harm in keeping you guessing.
“Move the same way or in the same place, do the same thing with the ball all the time and you become predictable, you can’t let your opponent get comfortable,” he says.
That is part of the reason how we somehow end up talking about his shower habits.
“I’m not sure why I’m saying it, but I’ll be standing there waiting for the screen door to steam up and that’s when I’ll start drawing out little formations,” he says.
“I’ll have a picture in my head and then use the steam to draw where I can be on the pitch and what I can do in certain areas of the pitch, I’ve always had that thought process. I’m football obsessed.”
So much so that he got his girlfriend to show him how to use one of the features on the messaging app Snapchat. “You take a picture and can then use all these different emojis by dragging them around the screen. I use it as a tactics board so I can move them around and get different pictures in my head.
“I’ve only started doing that one a couple of times, so if I’m watching on TV, I’ll move things around on the screen on Snapchat as I’m watching the game, trying to understand why something is happening or what else could happen, trying to find the spaces.”
It’s no surprise that Kavanagh admits he would like to be a manager, but he doesn’t want to get too consumed by that idea just yet. Tee-total and fond of a pot of tea, there is enough to occupy his mind to ensure he fulfils the potential that it seems he is on the cusp of realising under the guidance of manager Stephen Kenny.
“He knows how to prod me, how to get me going,” Kavanagh says.
He is also still in touch with his Under-13 coach from St Joseph’s Boys, and the mantra laid down by Mick Brown during those formative years have formed the bedrock of a career that is beginning to flourish.
“Never drop your standards, that was the first time I heard that in football,” he says. “Never give in, work hard and believe you can make a difference.”
That Joey’s side dominated the schoolboy scene in Ireland for a couple of years and several members of it are currently forging a path in the professional game. Joe Redmond is Kavanagh’s captain at Pat’s, Andy Lyons is with Blackpool, Jonathan Afolabi is on loan with SC Cambuur from Kortrijk in the Belgian Pro League, while Promise Omochere is at Bristol Rovers.
Ryan Burke is also now a rival at Waterford and last Friday he watched his old pal curl in a 90th-minute free kick to snatch a 2-1 victory after creating the equaliser moments beforehand.
“I feel like I can be the one to grab a game by the scruff of the neck,” he says.
“That’s not just being cocky or thinking I’m the best player, it’s just that I have more trust and belief in myself that those moments will come in games, and I’ll be ready to take them.”
The 24-year-old, who first emerged with Shamrock Rovers before joining Derry City and then arriving at Richmond Park in 2023, is at a pivotal stage of his life both on and off the pitch.
No longer the young pup learning the ropes in the League of Ireland, he’s been around for eight years now and is central to a St Pat’s team that is currently top of the Premier Division and faces champions Shelbourne tomorrow looking to lay down a marker at a sold-out Richmond Park.
“I feel that, I want to be the one people look to for us to win a game. I want to have something to prove to people, I want to be going out on the pitch proving people wrong,” he says.
The comparisons with Wes Hoolohan are obvious because of style and stature, but also strength of character. “I’ve hard to work harder on the other side of the game, of course, being part of the team unit and covering the ground around the pitch. I’m doing that over the last year and there is no hiding place in midfield. Everyone can see what you do.
“I know that I have to affect games, and becoming more effective and consistent comes from that self-belief, but that only comes when you are playing and with experience, being involved in big moments.”
Kavanagh reflects on his younger days, entering the League of Ireland after trials with the likes of Birmingham City, Southampton, Brighton and Sheffield United, and when chasing the highs in games would lead to anxiety in his performances and also in the build up to games.
“You want that feeling of scoring or creating a goal to stay with you because you know when the next week comes around you’ve to do it all over again and you wonder how you will do it? How will you perform? You want that feeling of excitement to stay because you don’t know if it will be the same again, so you want to hold onto it.
“Then as you get more experience that changes, it’s easier to keep your confidence. It’s not that you go hiding in games but you stay out of your own head when maybe it’s not going your way, you stay in the game and don’t drift away. You have to overcome the negative thoughts in your own head that something won’t happen for you and be ready to take that moment.”
Delivering a league title for St Pat’s would be extra special given it was the club he used to support growing up in Crumlin. “That’s cause of my Grandad (Pat). He’s a huge Pat’s fan. He still is. He’ll be there on Friday. When I was younger I’d go with him and my older brother, then he started going to Rovers with his mates so when they played each other I’d be with my Grandad, and my brother would be in with Rovers.
“I loved going. My Grandad would fill up an empty Coke bottle with a can of Guinness and sneak it in to watch matches. He said it helped for the nerves.”
There will be plenty of nervous energy around Richmond Park tomorrow, but Kavanagh is now in a place where he is proving capable of delivering those moments of class through clarity.
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Brandon Kavanagh Game changer? League of Ireland Soccer St. Patrick's Athletic