Ballymena United star determined to seize opportunity after 'tough couple of months'
Daire O’Connor is determined to show what he’s truly capable of after enduring “a tough couple of months” at the start of his Ballymena United career.
Having scored 15 goals and provided 14 assists in his last Irish League campaign at Glentoran, O’Connor was a statement arrival from Hamilton ahead of the current campaign.
However, the former Cliftonville winger struggled for opportunities under Jim Ervin, starting just three Premiership matches and amassed only 303 minutes across nine total league appearances.
The 28-year-old scored his first Ballymena goal in their BetMcLean Cup quarter-final victory over Larne earlier this month and impressed during last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Dungannon Swifts – his Sofascore match rating of 7.7 was the highest of any Sky Blues player.
O’Connor is now hoping to continue building on recent performances under new manager Oran Kearney, who will take charge of his first match against Portadown on Saturday.
"It was nice to get out there and I had a big point to prove, so the goal and assist in the first game back was great for my own sake, knowing that I've obviously still got it to some extent,” he said. “When you're not playing, you can doubt yourself, but when you've got a point to prove and want to prove people wrong, you really want to go out and make sure you hammer that home.
"I'm glad I did, but that was only one game. I know it's cliche, but if you turn around and do nothing for the rest of the season, no one remembers that goal. I need to back that up.
"It was a tough couple of months not getting as much football as I would have liked, but I never kicked up a fuss. You just have to be professional, get on with it and wait for your chance.
"I talk to my dad regularly about it...once you do get your chance, then it's up to you to take it – if you don't then they were right, you shouldn't be playing.
"When you do get your chance, you have to make sure you put a message out of ‘look, I can do it still’ and that's hopefully what I will continue to do.”
The arrival of former Ballymena player Kearney acts as a fresh start for the entire changing room and O’Connor feels they’ve the required quality to climb the Premiership table.
"We probably shouldn't be where we are with the team we have, but we've plenty of time to fix the season,” he added. “It genuinely is one of the best dressing rooms I've been in.
"Everyone gets along really well and we're all admitting that we probably haven't done as well as we could have for a variety of reasons whether it's injuries, form or everything else in between.
"We very much know that just because a manager has gone that doesn't mean there's no responsibility on us, ultimately the lads are on the pitch and Jim wasn't the one missing chances or making a mistake.
"That's ultimately the way football goes and we're all man enough to realise that...we have to shoulder responsibility and make sure we carry the club forward.”