ONE OF THE attractions of joining Aberdeen this summer for Stephen Gleeson was the opportunity to play European football for the first time in his career. The Irish midfielder was enthused by the prospect of a fresh challenge against a club from the continent.
Imagine his reaction, therefore, when the draw for the second qualifying round of the Europa League was made earlier this month and it sent him back to a familiar destination — England, where he had just spent the past 14 years of his career.
“I didn’t even know we could draw Burnley!” he says. “I was in Tenerife with my family when I saw the news. I couldn’t believe it. I was expecting somewhere abroad. After just leaving England, I suppose it’s funny how these things happen.”
Gleeson will hope to make his competitive debut for the Scottish Premiership club when they host Burnley on 26 July, with the return leg fixed for Turf Moor a week later. Aberdeen are competing in the Europa League for the fifth consecutive season, while Burnley are back in a European competition for the first time in 52 years.
“It’s a massive test for us, taking on a team who finished as high as seventh in the Premier League last season. One thing about it is that they don’t have the experience of playing in Europe as most of the Aberdeen lads do,” says Gleeson, whose first outing in an Aberdeen short could come in today’s friendly against Cobh Ramblers at Fota Island [2pm].
“Aberdeen have been playing European football — even though it has only been qualifying rounds — for the last few years. They’ve had that experience of coming back early into pre-season and getting ready for it. I’m sure Burnley will prepare magnificently for it because they’re a top club, but it’ll be interesting to see if they’re ready to go that early. Hopefully we can take that as an advantage.”
Gleeson began last season at Birmingham City, having joined the English Championship club in 2014 from MK Dons. After thriving under manager Gary Rowett, the Dubliner eventually fell out of favour during a period of upheaval at St Andrews when the club was under the stewardship of three different managers in the space of 10 months.
He left last January for Ipswich Town, where he was reunited with Mick McCarthy. Gleeson played under the former Ireland boss at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he started his professional career. His stay at Ipswich was brief, but it allowed the 29-year-old to rediscover the appetite that was on the wane during the latter stages of his time in Birmingham.
“The last six months have really allowed me to get the fire back in the belly,” he explains. “Going to Ipswich and working with Mick again gave me a real hunger to get back playing first-team football. If I stayed at Birmingham until the end of the season and then came to Aberdeen, I don’t think I’d be in this frame of mind. Getting a fresh start at Ipswich, even though it was only a few months, has been brilliant for me coming here. I have the motivation back now.
“The year before that at Birmingham was kind of a nightmare, to be honest. I was in and out of the team, I wasn’t fully fit and mentally I probably wasn’t there either. I had gone from playing every week for three-and-a-half years under the old manager to then being in and out. The club was changing and they went with their own players, which was fair enough. It was just a blessing to get out of there in January and make a clean break.”
With a wife and two children to take into account, Gleeson took his time to carefully consider the offer from Aberdeen when it arrived. After several conversations with manager Derek McInnes, he was convinced that moving 650 kilometres north made sense.
He says: “It was the biggest decision I’ve had to make since I decided to come over to England when I was 15. It wasn’t just footballing reasons, because I have a young family as well.
“Looking at the last few years that Aberdeen have had and the history of the club, I don’t think people realise how big a club it is. When I first heard about their interest I was probably feeling 50/50 on it, but after speaking to the manager a few times I knew I wanted to come here. It was down to him.
“There were a lot of factors to weigh up and it was a massive decision to make, but I feel it’s the right move for me at this stage of my career. It’s a huge challenge and I like challenges.”
One factor that Gleeson insists he didn’t assess when deciding to join Aberdeen was his potential to add to his tally of four senior caps for Ireland. At the age of 18, he was capped twice under Steve Staunton in friendlies against Ecuador and Bolivia in 2007. Ten years later, he finally got another taste of international football by coming off the bench in a 1-0 defeat to Iceland, before scoring Ireland’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to Mexico last summer.
“I’m concentrating on Aberdeen,” says Gleeson, who turns 30 in August. “By the looks of it, Martin [O'Neill] is kind of going down a younger path at the moment. That’s fair enough.
“If my international career is over, I cannot be happier. I’ve played and scored a goal for my country, which is every boy’s dream. Would I love more? Of course. But I’m an Aberdeen player first and I want to focus on doing well for them.
“If there’s a possibility of playing international football again, I’ll be the first one on the plane and the first one at the training ground. It would be fantastic. But if it doesn’t happen, I’m more than happy with what I’ve done. You don’t say no to your country. Fingers crossed it happens, but we’ll see how things go.”
