Could McCarthy Departure Threaten Flying Drinan?
Writes Ciaran Dineen
Carrigaline’s Aaron Drinan will be sad to see that his Ipswich Town boss, Mick McCarthy, has been let go as manager of the football club, with just a few weeks to go in the English Championship season. Former Irish International player and coach, McCarthy, was a huge admirer of the former Carrigaline AFC, Cobh Ramblers, Cork City and Waterford FC striker, and ultimately was the man behind the signing of Aaron to the East English side.
While it was widely known in the early autumn months that Aaron would make the move across the water, the deal could not be finalised until the winter transfer window, with Drinan eventually signing in early January. Aaron netted his first goal in Ipswich colours for the U23 team on January 15th and since then he has gone on to improve his goal tally with a series of eye-catching performances.
While many supporters for the senior side felt that the McCarthy should have given Drinan and other younger players a chance to gain some minutes on the pitch, the manager, while keeping tabs on Aaron, was not committing to giving him game time. Knowing that the manager was watching, Drinan kept his head down and the goals have kept on coming in recent weeks. On the 26th of February Aaron scored two goals for the U23s against West Bromwich Albion, a game that finished 3-2 in Ipswich’s favour. On March 19th Drinan followed that up as he scored twice in a 2-3 defeat to Leeds United in the U23 league. On April 4th Aaron scored once again in a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. Just a few days later Drinan grabbed an incredible hat-trick on the 9th of April, bringing his tally to nine. His performances caught the eye of McCarthy, who said on April 10th, “I’m delighted for him (Drinan) because he puts a real shift in does Aaron but the goals just hadn’t been going in for him. He’s just scored three and I’m really pleased with him.”
However, McCarthy was told last week that he no longer had a future at the club and while it was thought he would remain in charge until the end of the season, he left the club before last weekend’s game against Nottingham Forest. This could potentially be a blow for Drinan, whose strong physical stature is exactly what McCarthy seeks in a striker. Since his departure last week, a number of youth players featured for Ipswich in their game with Forest but unfortunately Drinan was not one of them.
There certainly remains hope for the former Carrigaline Community School student however, as caretaker boss Bryan Klug, told reporters that he would offer young players a chance in the closing games of the season. “Listen, I want to get as many minutes for as many young players as we possibly can. Of course I’m going to put them in whenever I can. But you’ve got to be fair and make sure you are putting out a team that is very competitive,” Klug said.
It remains to be seen as to whether Aaron will get his chance before the end of the season, but if he does we will certainly keep you updated! Keep going Aaron!
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