OTB Football
WILL FITZGERALD: 'We want to have a fast start this year!' | Sligo dreams ahead of 2026 and what's the best chipper in the town?
05 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Off the Ball, GAA. The names you mentioned there, they have a lot of medals and Howard, probably the standout of all of them. But there could be a bit of mind games too by Gerard Brennan in this as well. You can guarantee, we're all asking the question, who's he on about? And you can guarantee the players that are going to be at home going, is he on about me?
And when they're turned up to training, probably tonight, maybe there's a bit more umph in him.
Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at offtheball.com forward slash join. Fitzgerald, staring down the barrel of another League of Ireland season.
How are you feeling?
Good.
I feel good, I feel good. It's going to be my tenth season in the league now, so I'd like to consider myself a bit of a veteran now, but I'm happy. I'm still going strong and I'm super excited for the season to start.
Obviously, with Sligo since 2022, I mean, three years on the trot now, are you feeling like a regular down there now? I am, I am.
I've been there four or five years now. It's like a second home. I'm really happy there. I've made some good friends. It's an amazing club with even better people behind the scenes pushing everything in a positive direction. So I'm very privileged and grateful to be part of such an amazing club and representing it week in, week out and trying to achieve success for the people of Sligo.
I mean if you look at the end of last season probably a very dramatic end probably not the one you would have wanted really on paper to be coming down to those final game of the season but to have I suppose rallied around the troops and gotten such great results near the end of the season is there a way in which you're going to hopefully channel that form into this season now?
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Chapter 2: How is Will Fitzgerald feeling ahead of the new League of Ireland season?
We got off to a bad start last season, which is not something we want to replicate this year. But come the mid-season break and the window in the summertime, we brought in some quality players, got some great results, finished the season very strong and got out of trouble in the end, which was a big success and a big achievement for everyone. We just want to kick on now.
We don't want to be down near the bottom again and we want to have a fast start this year. That's the main objective going into the season. It's difficult, obviously, a lot of defensive departures, but Shane Blaney coming back, what an unbelievable sign to get. Unbelievable. Shane's a great lad on and off the pitch.
He's going to add real quality, real leadership to the group, especially a group that's so young, so it's invaluable. Myself and Shane, we stayed quite close since he left, and it's amazing to have him back. He's back in training now, he's looking sharp, and he's raring to go, and we're all super happy to have him here.
Was it only the one season you played with him during 2022, was it?
Yes, just the one year. The European campaign where he scored the amazing free kick. So hopefully he can replicate that now this year.
You've got a very tough first game to the season against Derry City. You're always stomping ground as well. You know how difficult it is to go up to the brandy well and get points on the board. I do, I do.
Derry, they've really invested again heavily this year. There's going to be a big buzz around James McLean returning. They have an amazing squad. There's only one objective for them up there and that's to go all the way and win the league and if not cup double and get far in Europe. So it's super exciting. It's going to be sold out. We're expecting a big Sligo contingent up on opening night.
So all the players in the dressing room now at Sligo, we really can't wait to get going and hopefully pick up a positive result.
Is there excitement around the community coming up to this season? I know obviously the Cup campaign probably didn't end the way you wanted it to but getting that far there was obviously a lot of excitement around that and that Bohemians result I think in particular got a load of people on their feet and regardless of where you were in the league people were looking forward to the next Cup game.
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Chapter 3: What lessons did Sligo Rovers learn from last season's challenges?
So hopefully we can go one further and kick on and really have a better cup run and hopefully get to a final this year.
On episode two of Richie McCormick's Sliding Doors podcast, the stories behind the transfers that almost happened but just about didn't focuses on one of the greatest of all time, Pelé. Pelé. Va-va, back to Pelé. Now what's he going to do? He's got the third! Oh, beautiful goal! And how the Santos superstar nearly swapped Brazil for Hanover.
And how a Nazi ice machine salesman nearly pulled the deal off. dropping in your OTB football podcast feed this Monday Richie McCormick's sliding doors
I have to ask this question, and you're probably going to be asked it a lot today, but Owen Elding, obviously, and Highburn, how big of a change will that be for you guys now? It'll be massive.
It'll be massive. He was a big presence on and off the pitch. Honestly, amazing footballer, amazing attitude, immaculately raised by his family. He's incredible. He's going to have a very long and successful career, and I'm delighted for him, and I'm super proud of him. Seeing him come in from day one, it's funny, he was a bit worried things wouldn't happen for him.
He might not get his first goal and whatnot, but I tried to reassure him that the quality's there, the attitude's there, the dedication's there. you have a very good career ahead of you and I'm super glad it's come into fruition now and he's thriving, I'm delighted for him.
Obviously manager John Russell, you and him kind of occupy a similar position of the field when he was playing, like how much of an influence is he on your game?
John is a big reason why I come back every year to Sligo, we have a great relationship He drives the standards every single day, so as captain and as a player, you don't need to speak too much about the habits and the standards because it trickles down from the management, which is an absolute privilege to have in any group and any team setting. I love working with him every single day.
It's been three, four good years with him now and hopefully many more to continue in the future.
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Chapter 4: How does the return of Shane Blaney impact the team?
Thank you very much.