Seanie Maguire was one of a long line of talented Irish players to make the switch from the Emerald Isle to east London.
While he did not make a first-team breakthrough with West Ham United, Maguire enjoyed a productive loan spell with tonight’s opponents Accrington Stanley during his time with the Hammers.
Now banging in the goals for League of Ireland Premier Division title-chasers and FAI Cup semi-finalists Cork City and the Republic of Ireland U21s, Maguire says he learnt a lot during his three years in Claret and Blue...
Hello everyone,
I am doing well and loving life at the minute, so I can’t really complain! Things have been going really well the past couple of months. It seems every shot that I have been taking has been going in and I’m full of confidence.
Before I went away with the Ireland Under-21s, I was on a good scoring streak and I thankfully managed to carry that into the games against Serbia and Slovenia. The whole season has been going well for me and the team here at Cork City.
We are second in the League of Ireland Premier Division table behind the reigning champions, Dundalk, where I played a part in winning the title last season, and into the semi-finals of the FAI Cup, so we are going to try and win the double this year, fingers crossed!
As a striker, you want to start your time with any club with a goal, as the longer you go without scoring, the lower your confidence is going to be, so to score three goals in the first two games for Cork, it went very well.
I have continued that form throughout the season and I am feeling so confident going into every game, thinking that I’m going to score. I am surrounded by players who believe in me, and that also gives me a lot of confidence, too.
I am doing well and loving life at the minute, so I can’t really complain! Things have been going really well the past couple of months. It seems every shot that I have been taking has been going in and I’m full of confidence.
Before I went away with the Ireland Under-21s, I was on a good scoring streak and I thankfully managed to carry that into the games against Serbia and Slovenia. The whole season has been going well for me and the team here at Cork City.
We are second in the League of Ireland Premier Division table behind the reigning champions, Dundalk, where I played a part in winning the title last season, and into the semi-finals of the FAI Cup, so we are going to try and win the double this year, fingers crossed!
As a striker, you want to start your time with any club with a goal, as the longer you go without scoring, the lower your confidence is going to be, so to score three goals in the first two games for Cork, it went very well.
I have continued that form throughout the season and I am feeling so confident going into every game, thinking that I’m going to score. I am surrounded by players who believe in me, and that also gives me a lot of confidence, too.
Looking back on my time at West Ham, although I didn’t manage to make my debut, it massively helped me as a player and as a person
Sean Maguire
Looking back on my time at West Ham, although I didn’t manage to make my debut, it massively helped me as a player and as a person. When I was at Waterford United as a teenager, I was only training a couple of times a week, then when I went over to West Ham it is one of the biggest clubs in England and a huge environment.
It helped me grow into a man, both in terms of physical and mental development, because I went over as a scrawny, small 18-year-old, and now people look at me and I am as tall as I am broad!
I put that largely down to West Ham and the programmes I was on over there. The Under-21 system helped me a lot.
During my time there, I went on loan to Sligo Rovers here in Ireland, who were managed by John Coleman. John then moved back to Accrington and he took me on loan for the 2014/15 season. Since I met John at Sligo, things have been going brilliant for me.
Accrington is a great club – it’s like a little family. I obviously know John personally and he, like West Ham, has helped me massively as a player and as a person. John is a great manager and that showed last year, when Accrington nearly got promoted to League One.
Looking at the game tonight, Accrington have beaten Burnley and Bradford in the League Cup and I’m not surprised. It’s a small club, but a brilliant club full of good people, so they deserve all the success they’re going to get.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Accrington get promoted from League Two this season, especially after last season. I’m sure they’ll get the job done.
I’m still in contact with two of the lads there, Shay McCartan and John O’Sullivan, and there’s a couple of other Irish lads there. John was managing in Ireland, so maybe he likes the spirit we bring to the dressing room!
*You can read the full interview with Sean Maguire in tonight’s 100-page Official Programme, priced 3.50 and available from the Stadium Store, in and around London Stadium, or online here.
It helped me grow into a man, both in terms of physical and mental development, because I went over as a scrawny, small 18-year-old, and now people look at me and I am as tall as I am broad!
I put that largely down to West Ham and the programmes I was on over there. The Under-21 system helped me a lot.
During my time there, I went on loan to Sligo Rovers here in Ireland, who were managed by John Coleman. John then moved back to Accrington and he took me on loan for the 2014/15 season. Since I met John at Sligo, things have been going brilliant for me.
Accrington is a great club – it’s like a little family. I obviously know John personally and he, like West Ham, has helped me massively as a player and as a person. John is a great manager and that showed last year, when Accrington nearly got promoted to League One.
Looking at the game tonight, Accrington have beaten Burnley and Bradford in the League Cup and I’m not surprised. It’s a small club, but a brilliant club full of good people, so they deserve all the success they’re going to get.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Accrington get promoted from League Two this season, especially after last season. I’m sure they’ll get the job done.
I’m still in contact with two of the lads there, Shay McCartan and John O’Sullivan, and there’s a couple of other Irish lads there. John was managing in Ireland, so maybe he likes the spirit we bring to the dressing room!
*You can read the full interview with Sean Maguire in tonight’s 100-page Official Programme, priced 3.50 and available from the Stadium Store, in and around London Stadium, or online here.