NEXT MONTH, IT will be 10 years since Eoghan O’Connell made his Celtic first-team debut under then-manager Neil Lennon.
That day amid a disappointing 1-1 draw with Ross County, the 18-year-old lined up in a defence that also included a 22-year-old Virgil van Dijk, the Dutch international that even then was widely considered by teammates as a “special player” and who would go on to establish himself as arguably the world’s best centre-back at Liverpool.
The Corkonian’s career trajectory thereafter has been far from straightforward but he describes a move to Wrexham in January 2023 as “the best thing that ever happened to me”.
It’s quite a statement considering the defender has played against a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona at the Nou Camp, coming off the bench during a 7-0 hammering, and so is one of the few current Irish footballers to have played in the Champions League group stages.
And tonight, O’Connell is hoping to be part of a major FA Cup upset.
League Two Wrexham face a Blackburn side two divisions above them.
Sixth-tier Maidstone United have already shown what is possible by knocking out another Championship side, Ipswich Town, in the biggest shock of the fourth round.
O’Connell is hoping his team can follow suit and capitalise on the feel-good factor surrounding the club, particularly as they knocked out another Championship side, Coventry City, last season, before losing a replay to Sheffield United.
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When he moved to Wrexham at the beginning of last year, O’Connell admits it was somewhat of a gamble.
The centre-back had been playing in League One with Charlton Athletic, so the abrupt decision to drop down two divisions might have seemed odd on the face of it.
However, O’Connell understands the need to sometimes take a step back to go forward in football.
“I got that move to Charlton and thought: ‘This is where I can kick on now,’” he tells The 42.
“But obviously, that changed in January last year.”
He has previously expressed regret at staying too long at Celtic. He left four seasons after his debut with 13 senior appearances to his name. Before then, loan spells at Oldham Athletic and Cork City were cut short by injury before he finally got a consistent run of senior football amid another temporary stint at Walsall.
He was well-regarded at Celtic and declined an offer to stay another year. “I’ve been particularly impressed by young Eoghan,” Brendan Rodgers said during his first spell as manager there. “He’s a good size, wants to do well and he’s good in the air. He has been around the first team for a few years and had some loan experience.”
Yet ultimately O’Connell decided he had a better chance of regular game time away from the Scottish giants.
He joined League One outfit Bury in the summer of 2017 before disaster struck.
Serious ankle and knee injuries meant he made just 12 league appearances in his debut campaign as the club were relegated.
However, O’Connell and the team recovered well the following season. He featured 35 times in all competitions as they finished second and won promotion back to League One at the first attempt.
But another serious setback was to follow. In August 2019, Bury were expelled by the English Football League after a takeover bid from C&N Sporting Risk collapsed following longstanding financial issues.
With this cloud hanging over the club, O’Connell had departed the previous month to link up with another League One side, Rochdale, managed by Brian Barry-Murphy.
The defender cites the Irish coach, who is now Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad manager, as the single biggest influence on his career since moving to Britain.
“The brand of football we played for a low-budget League One team at the time was really good,” he says.
“The influence he had on all of us — there’s quite a lot of the team from our first two years in the game that have gone on to better moves and have done well at better levels.
“I still keep in contact with him now. If I need something, or to talk to someone to bounce something off, he’s always there.”
Despite the club’s relegation to League Two, on an individual level, O’Connell was catching the eye, winning the club’s Player of the Season award in two out of his three campaigns there.
He ultimately did enough to earn a transfer back to League One with Charlton but found himself playing in the National League with Wrexham just six months later.
The move came as somewhat of a surprise as he had been made vice-captain with the London-based club and was playing regularly until a knee injury requiring surgery, which he picked up at the end of October, stalled his momentum.
“I was pulled in and they said: ‘Look, a bid has been made.’ Charlton seemed in a bit of disarray at the time.
“When the opportunity came up, they accepted the bid and when someone accepts a bid, they’re basically saying: ‘You can go.’ It was a move I was really excited by but at the time, I was pretty happy at Charlton.”
O’Connell did not come to regret the decision. He was a regular part of the side that won promotion, pipping Notts County to the title by four points.
He is one of six Irish players on the books at the club, alongside James McClean, Anthony Forde, Liam McAlinden, Thomas O’Connor and Luke McNicholas.
Wrexham are now vying for consecutive promotions, as they sit second at the time of writing, five points off leaders Stockport with a game in hand.
On a personal level, though, it has been somewhat frustrating. O’Connell began the season as a regular in the starting XI but has appeared just twice since suffering an injury towards the end of October, featuring from the bench in last weekend’s defeat by Newport.
“I’m experienced enough to know once a team’s doing well, I’m pretty happy,” he says.
“Hopefully, I can stay fit for the rest of the season and then just try and play a big part towards the end.”
The former Ireland U21 international had hoped he was over the worst of his injury problems. During his Rochdale spell, he found a way of “training and playing that worked for me to just get through games”.
He adds: “I think this year has been a bit of a surprise because I worked really hard over the summer. I wanted to make sure everything was right in my knee.
“I feel better physically now than I did when I was 21 or 22. I don’t know why that is, but I just feel more comfortable in myself.
“Before this series of injuries, I felt confident in being able to play all the time. There are a lot of games in this league where it’s [two games a week] Saturday, Tuesday, quite a bit. And I was fine with that.”
Wrexham, he feels, is a club that is going places. He lavishes praise on manager Phil Parkinson for fostering a good atmosphere in the dressing room and commends their Hollywood-stars-turned-club-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who frequently come to games, visit the dressing room and send the occasional congratulatory message while knowing to leave the on-field matters to the experts.
Although acknowledging the importance of not looking too far ahead, O’Connell is hopeful the team can secure a top-three spot that would see them earn promotion and give him another crack at League One football.
Getting to this point, however, has not been easy.
O’Connell credits his upbringing as helping him acquire the resilience to keep going during testing moments.
The defender comes from a family steeped in sport. Most famously, his cousin Paul, whose games he would often attend growing up, is a Munster Rugby and Ireland legend.
Both his father Damien and brother Andy had stints at Cork City, while other close relatives played GAA to a good level and sports stars such as Wayne Sherlock were friendly with the family.
“I grew up playing a lot of Gaelic and hurling right until I left to go over to Celtic,” he says.
“I think that probably would have given me the edge [over other aspiring footballers]. We were always kind of striving, me and my older brother. We played every sport we could and we were always encouraged to do that.
“It was always a case I just wanted to do the best I could and get the best out of myself when I went [across the water]. And that drive I still have now probably comes from that grounding when I was younger.”
The six years with Celtic were similarly pivotal in shaping the man O’Connell became, with the youngster persevering despite all the “dark” moments and injuries that would ensue.
“Being over here, you can get left behind quickly,” he concludes. “I think you have to be ready for anything really, certainly in this game. Because sometimes when you think you’ve cracked it, or you’re on a high point, things can change pretty quickly.
“And it’s the same the other way. I think when things are going wrong, and everyone thinks: ‘What am I going to do?’ It’s only a turn around the corner, but you have to put in the work and you have to stick at it. It’s a short career.
“Some people have a rise and rise in their career and others have some low points, and you have to come back from it.
“That’s almost the best part of it, I think. There can be low times but there’s nothing better than coming back for more when it seems like things aren’t going your way.”
