WITH THE UTMOST respect to the fine city of Doncaster and its upstanding inhabitants, it’s not entirely surprising that Rob Kiernan has no regrets about taking his career to America.
As a member of a Southend United side who lost 3-1 at Doncaster Rovers on a cold Tuesday night in January 2020, Kiernan played his final game in English football before deciding that California was more to his taste.
Currently preparing for his second season in the USL Championship with Orange County SC, the 30-year-old centre-back quickly grew accustomed to the luxury of having the Pacific Ocean on his doorstep.
“It’s a beautiful part of the world to live in, with a different way of life; waking up to the sun and being able to do things outdoors,” he says. “I love it here. I don’t have any intention of moving home any time soon.”
Home for Kiernan is the Hertfordshire town of Rickmansworth, one of the last stops on the Underground’s Metropolitan Line after it meanders its way out of central London.
He credits his Wexford-born father with an enormous role in his footballing development throughout his childhood there. When an opportunity therefore arose to represent the Republic of Ireland at U16 level, his debut was an occasion of great significance for the family.
“I loved playing for Ireland,” Kiernan says. “It was something that made me so proud. I think my first ever game for Ireland was in France and my dad came over on the Eurostar. That was a special day and a beautiful feeling.
“A lot of my career is owed to him because he was the one who took the reins with me as a young boy. He’d be out there training me for hours on end. Without him I’d probably never have gotten to where I did.”
A few miles down the road from where he was raised, Kiernan began his senior career at Watford. In an FA Cup fourth-round win over Crystal Palace, he was only a couple of weeks removed from his 18th birthday when Brendan Rodgers gave him his debut as a professional.
Rodgers departed a few months later, and when Kiernan crossed paths with his former boss again, they were on opposing sides of one of world football’s most bitter rivalries.
On the same day in June 2015 that the transfer of James McClean from Wigan Athletic to West Bromwich Albion was announced, the Latics also completed the sale of Rob Kiernan.
A penny for McClean’s thoughts on his former team-mate’s destination.
Kiernan had been on the verge of leaving Wigan to sign a three-year deal with Birmingham City, with whom he spent the second half of the previous season on loan.
As he readied himself for a permanent move to St Andrew’s, his head was turned by a call from Mark Warburton, who coached him in the Watford academy and during a loan spell at Brentford. Warburton had a new job and identified Kiernan as one of his main targets.
“Joining a club as big as Rangers is an amazing opportunity for any footballer,” Kiernan says. “You don’t ignore a chance to play for a club of that size. I went there and I was determined to enjoy it. I did that, but I learned fairly quickly that I’d have to take the rough with the smooth.”
Kiernan knew that there existed a rancorous relationship between his new club and Celtic, their long-standing adversaries in Glasgow. He also understood that Celtic’s history was underpinned by a distinct sense of Irish identity. However, he was blissfully unaware of just how deep the divisions between the two clubs ran.
The significance of the political and religious differences that separate the sides soon became clear to Kiernan, who was taken aback by the toxic undercurrent of sectarianism.
“I didn’t realise the magnitude of it all,” he says. “I really wasn’t expecting it to be such a big issue. As soon as I signed there was abuse coming at me from all angles. Even before I played a game there was all sorts of stuff coming at me on Twitter.”
It’s a road less travelled from the green jersey of Ireland to the blue of Rangers, the full extent to which Kiernan was relatively oblivious. After all, he was joining a club where Dublin-born striker Jon Daly had just spent two seasons.
Kiernan had no desire to betray his background. Memories of summer holidays in Wexford and Dublin are embedded in his memory, his Catholic upbringing etched on his skin through a tattoo of the Virgin Mary – a tribute to his late grandmother.
The switch to Ibrox was made on the basis of what he felt was best for him as a professional. His thought process was similar to that of someone in any other industry who is presented with a fresh career opportunity.
If he worked in banking, he wouldn’t reject a job offer from HSBC because a family member had an account with Barclays. In theory this was no different, yet in practice the reality was eye-opening.
“I don’t enjoy going into it too much because I don’t want to cause a stir, but at the same time I’m not going to lie about it. A lot of things were said and there were death threats from people who weren’t happy with me being there. That was coming from both sides, it wasn’t just Celtic or Rangers.
“There was abuse around the town just because people felt I was playing for the wrong team or whatever it might be. I quickly realised that I just had to get on with things. I obviously wasn’t going to please everyone so I could only focus on doing my job, playing football, and blocking out the rest.”
Kiernan is keen to stress that some unpleasant experiences didn’t detract from the many good days he was involved in during a two-year spell in Glasgow. Purveyors of extreme bigotry represent a minority on both sides of the Old Firm, he insists.
Playing regularly in front of crowds of 50,000, he made a total of 76 appearances for Rangers and helped the club achieve promotion back to the Scottish Premiership.
“It was an amazing experience playing for that club. I absolutely loved it and I was never going to let my heritage and my background get in the way of my enjoyment of it.
“There will always be differences of opinion, but that can’t change the fact that it was an amazing time in my career which I loved. Certain people had strong verdicts, but I still wouldn’t change it for the world when I look back. It was incredible.
“I recognise now that there’s history, I understand that religion and politics come into it too. I was unaware of that when I signed, but the thing about football is that you’re scrutinised from every angle anyway so you get used to just having to get on with things.
“My religion and my roots could be used against me by people who had particular opinions. It was a bit of a shock that I was being told ‘you don’t belong here, we don’t want you, get out of our club’ before I had even played a game. That made it difficult to begin with.
“A small number of people had certain views but it didn’t take away from the fact that I loved my time there. That’s always how I’ll remember it. Being at such a big club gave me memories that will last forever.”
On three occasions Kiernan was on the losing side against Celtic, but his first experience of the derby produced a career highlight. Although Rangers ultimately came up short in the decider against Hibernian, he fondly remembers the penalty-shootout win against Ronny Deila’s side in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.
“Honestly, the atmosphere in an Old Firm is something you can’t even describe,” he says. “It’s absolutely electric. When we walked out that day at Hampden, the stadium just erupted. Danny Wilson was my centre-back partner and I couldn’t communicate properly with him because he just couldn’t hear me.
“Walking into an atmosphere like that is an incredible feeling. It’s intense and it’s really built up in the media about a week beforehand. The police would come to the training ground and warn us about celebrating and stuff like that. It’s more than just a football match, for sure.”
Many of the acquaintances made by Kiernan at Ibrox remain close friends. Among them is James Tavernier, a key member of the Rangers side that ended Celtic’s bid for a 10th consecutive Scottish Premiership title last weekend.
Kiernan says: “They’re flying this season and I’m really happy for everyone involved, especially the people – kitmen, physios, masseuses etc. – who were there through the tough times for the club. They can have smiles on their faces again after a long time.”
Playing against Celtic was something that Kiernan had already experienced prior to his move to Rangers. In 2010, while on loan from Watford, he helped Kilmarnock record a 1-0 win over a Hoops side that included debutant Robbie Keane.
Alongside players such as Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy and Conor Hourihane, Kiernan made his Ireland U21 debut later that year. He went on to play in two European Championship qualifying campaigns at the age grade, and captained a team that included Shane Duffy, John Egan, Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady.
“There were some incredible players in that team,” he says. “I loved being part of that group and it’s lovely to see what those boys have gone on to achieve.
“I look at it now and think I’d love to be doing what those guys are doing and playing at their level, but I feel nothing but proud of them and happy for them. I’ve got massive respect for them all. I still speak to a few of the boys on Instagram and I really enjoy following how well they’re doing.
“Getting to represent Ireland with guys like that was an amazing experience. I’m very proud of my Irish roots and it’s something I’ll never hide or shy away from.”
Roberto Martinez tipped Kiernan for a bright future after signing him at Wigan Athletic, for whom the defender reckons he played some of the best football of his career.
Following their relegation in 2013, Wigan went close to achieving an immediate return to the Premier League. Kiernan played in both legs of their Championship play-off semi-final, but it was Queens Park Rangers who advanced after extra-time.
“If I can be brutally honest – because I set very high standards for myself – I don’t feel like I really fulfilled my potential,” Kiernan says in his assessment of a career that will resume when the 2021 USL Championship season kicks off in late April.
“I was desperate to see if my dreams could take me to the Premier League, like every footballer does. Sometimes I feel a bit disappointed in myself that I didn’t make it there.
“Look, I made it to a very high level in a really tough, competitive industry, but as a professional you always want more – and I wanted more than I managed to achieve. Sometimes that can be a tough one to swallow.
“On the flipside, I’ve got to look at what I have actually done and, yeah, I guess I can be proud of that.”