Twelve months ago Shane Daniels was, as he put it himself, “a bag of nerves.” A year on from patrolling the line as a selector he finds himself not only back playing but playing between the posts of all places.
“Last year I could barely eat, I was a complete bag of nerves. Playing is so much easier because when you are playing you feel you can do something to influence the outcome but as a selector you’re practically kicking every ball as if it was the last ball. You’d be shattered after a match on the line” he laughs.
“Seriously though it has been a huge change. I never envisaged being back playing at Senior Level let alone playing in goal but a situation arose and here at this great club it’s all about putting your shoulder to the wheel.”
Entering into the County Final Shane has yet to concede a goal in 300 minutes of action, an incredible statistic. So does he feel he should have played in goal his whole career?
“Oh God, no, I did play an under 21 game years ago but back then it was a case of putting the ball down and booting it as far as possible. That’s all changed now. Kickouts are an essential cog in any machine. You simply must find a teammate each and every time.
“We work on this a lot, we have spent an awful amount of time on restarts but it has paid off. As for not conceding a goal I really don’t feel I’ve anything to do with that,” he modestly says with a huge smile and laugh.
Shane is in jovial form and why wouldn’t he be? He has been a tremendous servant to his beloved Townies and he is in a unique position of having won Jack Daly as a selector, he now has the chance to win it once more as a player. Surely though he can take pride in keeping those clean sheets?
“We have a magnificent defence with each player knowing and executing their job to a ridiculously high standard.
“Our entire backline is extremely well drilled and each one of them are well able to mind their own patch. I’ve also been so lucky that the best goalkeeper we ever had in this County has been working with me.
“Barry Ryan is without question the greatest goalkeeper Clare has ever seen. He has been advising me on angles, on positioning myself to be in the right spot to deal with whatever situation arises in the easiest way.
“It’s like everything else really, if you prepare and put in the hard work you do reap the rewards. It really is that simple.”
On the game Sunday does he feel that Ennistymon, by virtue of the closeness of their games in the knockout stages are more battle hardened?
“We’ve been tested too. St. Breckan’s are a formidable outfit and we had to come from behind. It’s not easy to win any Championship match. We must apply our own philosophy to each occasion and it’s simple really.
“We must work harder than the opposition. We are still improving, we know Ennistymon will be a tough nut but it’s not about them. It’s about us, work hard and we are no different to any other team in that you need that bit of luck.”
Has he been soaking in the atmosphere this time a bit more considering he’s older and back playing when he really thought these days were behind him?
“I’m actually loving it, last year was an unreal feeling but only enjoyable afterwards when we had won. This year I’m able to enjoy the flags, the feel good factor around the town, all the schools decked out in red and white and the kids coming to see us train. It really is a fantastic time for the club. All we have to do now is win.”