'It was great to play for Glentoran' - Daire O'Connor reflects on time in the Irish League after making Scotland return with Hamilton Academical
Former Glentoran winger Daire O’Connor admits an opportunity to make a Scotland return with an ambitious club like Hamilton Academical was too good to turn down and he wants to play a key role in helping them gain promotion back to the Premiership.
The 27-year-old enjoyed an impressive season last term after joining the Glens from Ayr United, registering 15 goals and 12 assists in East Belfast, including a maiden career hat-trick in February’s 8-2 Premiership win over Newry City and brace as they defeated Linfield 4-0 in December.
O’Connor has now signed a two-year contract at Hamilton, who gained promotion to the Championship last season and have their eyes set on an ultimate return to Scotland’s top-flight – they spent seven consecutive years in the Premiership before suffering relegation in 2021.
Manager John Rankin made no secret of his desire to acquire O’Connor’s services, identifying him as a transfer target since last season, and the ex-Cliftonville winger says he wanted to be involved in the club’s exciting project.
"I spoke to him (Rankin) a few times...I spoke to him last year but ultimately I decided to go back home,” he told the club’s media channel. “He told me how progressive the club are under new ownership - the club got out of League One in one year and the aim is to try and do the same again which appealed to me.
"He said he wanted to bring pace to the team, an attacking threat on both flanks, and I think I tick those boxes so he was very adamant and when you're wanted like that it's very hard to say no, especially under a progressive manager like Ranks. He's trying to play football the right way."
Alongside the likes of David Fisher and Johnny Russell, O’Connor was amongst Glentoran’s most consistent performers throughout what was ultimately a disappointing campaign where they missed out on European football.
Having made 49 appearances across two seasons in the Scottish Championship for Ayr, O’Connor felt like the time was right for another crack at the league and wants to reproduce the fine form that helped him earn this move.
"I went home for various family reasons and it was great to play for Glentoran, play in Europe and get a different experience under my belt,” he added. “I did what I needed to do there for the most part even though collectively we didn't achieve our aim.
"Personally I had a decent season and I always wanted to kick on in my career and everyone's ultimate goal (at Hamilton) is to get back into the Premiership, where the club probably belongs.
"The dream for all attackers is 10 goals and 10 assists - that seems to be the benchmark that everyone wants to hit. This league is tough and not very high scoring compared to back home...games back home could be 4-0, 4-3. 5-4 - they can be big scorelines.
"I know from my time here that often it can be 1-0 or 2-1 so it's tougher to produce big numbers in this league, but I've set the goal of 10 and 10."