JOEY O’BRIEN HAS been rewarded for the role he played in Shamrock Rovers’ successful end to the 2019 season, which culminated with the club’s first FAI Cup triumph in 32 years.

O’Brien has seen off competition from Rovers team-mate Roberto Lopes and Dundalk winger Michael Duffy to scoop the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers’ Association of Ireland Player of the Month award for October/November.

The 33-year-old concluded his second campaign as a Hoops player by delivering a superb performance in the FAI Cup decider against Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium on 3 November.

“It’s been a great few weeks,” said O’Brien, who also scored for Stephen Bradley’s side in their Premier Division victory over UCD in October. “Winning the FAI Cup was a nice way to end the season.

“When I came back to Ireland, the only thing I wanted to do was play for Shamrock Rovers. I spoke to the manager and Stephen McPhail and we talked about winning silverware with the club.

“Luckily, we’ve been able to do that. I had loads of family members at the game who are Shamrock Rovers fans and you could see just how much it meant to them.”

O’Brien returned to Ireland and became a Shamrock Rovers player ahead of the 2018 season. While in England, he played over 100 times in the Premier League during his time with Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.

He made 24 appearances in the league this year as Rovers finished in second place behind Dundalk, who were crowned champions for the fifth time in six seasons.

Looking ahead to 2020, the veteran Dubliner — who was capped five times by the Republic of Ireland at senior level — added: “I’m already looking forward to getting back. The main aim will be closing that gap on Dundalk, so hopefully we can get off to a good start next season.

“The manager will want to bring in a couple of players to add competition and a bit of freshness that you need in order for us to kick on to the next level.”

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