Danny Rogers is heading away on Thursday with the Republic of Ireland U21 squad to Marbella for a couple for friendlies against the USA & Russia. He recently spoke to redmatchday.
Much media attention this season has been heaped onto the SPFL Championship with Hearts, Hibs and Rangers all battling it out in Scotland’s second tier. One of the players who has been making a name for himself in that league this season is Dons keeper Danny Rogers who is on loan at Dumbarton. The highly rated stopper has put in a string of impressive performances that have earned him rave reviews, plus two consecutive Dumbarton player of the month awards and a call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad.
Danny joined Ian Murray’s side on a six-month loan deal and will stay with them until January 5th. The 20-year old Irishman, who has now been capped at U19 and U21 level by his country, spent time loan at Airdrie during last season. He told us how he is getting on after swapping the Dons for the Sons.
“I am really enjoying my time there. This is my first real loan spell because at Airdrie last season I was only there for a month. As soon as I heard they were keen on having me, I was delighted! Dumbarton are a very good side, as they showed last season when Aberdeen played them in the Scottish Cup.
“It is a very good standard. We are at a slight disadvantage as we are one of three part-time clubs in the league. It is a slight factor late in games, we do start to tire a little. It is hard for our players to be expected to train two nights a week and then to turn up on a Saturday and compete with players who are training every day.
“Saying that, the boys do a lot of extra stuff themselves to keep up the fitness levels. A lot of the boys are going to the gym, doing spin classes on Wednesday night and stuff like that. They have to show a great deal of dedication to do that and also hold down full time jobs.
“So it does make it harder being part time, but we are competing. We are picking up points here and there and I am confident we will stay clear of the relegation zone. We are doing ok so far. We had a target of 10 points at this stage of the season and we reached that target in the first quarter.
“It was quite hard going into the Airdrie dressing room last year as I am quite shy and I was not training with them during the week, just turning up on a Saturday. Settling into the Dumbarton squad has been a lot easier.
For a start I am training with them and I am also staying with my good friend Mitch Megginson and one of the other lads on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the build up to the game.
They introduced me to the rest of the boys. They have a very good dressing room. When I initially went in, David Van Zantan and Lee Mair both took me under their wing. They are both very good senior pros who give me a lot of advice.
“I have played against Hearts, home and away, played against Hibs at Easter Road as well as Rangers at Ibrox. The Hearts game at home, we managed to get a draw and funnily enough, I did not have that much to do that day. It was slightly different when we played them at Tynecastle. They are obviously flying at the moment and playing very well and are the team to beat. I also had a shut-out against Hibs and made a penalty save. I have had five shut-outs and have beaten the number Dumbarton had for the whole of last season already. So I am quite pleased with my form so far.
“It is a massive step up from playing in the U20 League. Obviously in the youth games, you want to win, as you do every time you play football, but there is not the same pressure on you and you do not get as nervous. You can go out and express yourself but playing at a senior level there are points to be won and people’s jobs are at risk at the end of the day. Now as soon as I wake up on a Saturday morning, I start to think about the game and get nervous. But you need that. You need the nerves to keep you focussed.
“Your concentration levels need to be perfect for the whole game, if you make a mistake it can be so costly. Another difference is the importance of game management. You need to know when to slow the game down or when to speed it up. The strikers you face are better. They are also a lot more physical, especially when corners are coming over. It is a lot harder to get by players to get the ball.
“And then you have the crowds. The first time I played in front of a massive crowd, I just thought, “What is happening here!” You just think there are so many people looking at you! It does help you though as you know that you need to be on your game. Like everything in life, the more you do it the more you get used to it and I now enjoy playing in front of bit crowds.
“Ian Murray is a very good manager. Dumbarton had a reputation last season for their attacking football. They scored the most number of goals but also conceded the most as well. This year the manager has tried to make the team harder to break down and although we are maybe not scoring as many goals, we are getting a lot of decent results.
“My typical week sees me training at Pittodrie on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That is important as I am still working with Jim Leighton. I then travel down to Dumbarton on a Thursday and train with them that night. On a Friday I will then go and train with St Mirren or Motherwell – Jim Leighton knows both goalkeeper coaches. It is good for me to get some decent training on a Friday to help me prepare myself for a match. I am at St Mirren more often, and work with Paul Mathers who is a good coach. They have two good goalkeepers in Marian Kello and Mark Ridgers. At Motherwell, they have Gunnar Nielsen and Dan Twardzik who obviously I know from his time at Pittodrie. Both are good lads along with Gordon Marshall who again is a very good coach. It is a lot of travelling, but necessary for my development.
“Another step in my development was making my debut for the Ireland U21s recently. I was absolutely delighted to get the call. We played Norway during the international break in a friendly. I got on for the last half an hour and I thought I did quite well and I had one good save at the end. I got some quite positive feedback, so hopefully I will have done enough to get into the next squad. We lost the game 4-1 but the scoreline was 4-0 when I came on so I am saying we won 1-0 whilst I was playing! It was a good experience. It is a new group of players, many of whom have come through from the U19 side. Noel King is the coach. He is very good. He is very positive and encourages you a lot.”
“Another step in my development was making my debut for the Ireland U21s recently. I was absolutely delighted to get the call. We played Norway during the international break in a friendly. I got on for the last half an hour and I thought I did quite well and I had one good save at the end. I got some quite positive feedback, so hopefully I will have done enough to get into the next squad. We lost the game 4-1 but the scoreline was 4-0 when I came on so I am saying we won 1-0 whilst I was playing! It was a good experience. It is a new group of players, many of whom have come through from the U19 side. Noel King is the coach. He is very good. He is very positive and encourages you a lot.”
