Colleen Paterson: Gamble paid off for Sives

Published on Thursday 23 July 2009 12:11

CRAIG SIVES revealed today that he could have spent Monday night taking bets on the Shamrock Rovers' game against Real Madrid instead of lining up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul himself.

Released by Hearts in January, he was ready to quit football for good after being told in February that the Irish side were unable to offer him a contract because hospital scans during a medical had shown a tear in his groin.

The news came as a huge blow for the young defender, who had suffered a string of injuries over the course of the previous four seasons with Hearts and he admits that he seriously considered a life away from the game he loves.

Worried about where his next wage would be coming from, he was offered a job working as a cashier for bookmaker William Hill in Edinburgh, but instead of taking the job decided to return to Ireland for a second chance.

Sives had been told by Rovers boss Michael O'Neill, below, that although the groin problem meant they couldn't offer him a contract, they would allow him to use their training facilities to try to get back to full fitness.

So the 23-year-old scraped together the last of his savings and returned to Ireland for one last chance, and the gamble paid off.

Having worked solidly in the gym and on the training field for almost two months without pay, and put in extra hours working part-time as a van driver, Sives proved his fitness and was offered a season-long deal with Rovers, which was extended by a further year earlier this month.

The relief the young defender feels at finally seeing his career heading back in the right direction is clear, however he knows there's still a long way to go.

He said: "I am just happy to be back playing football to be honest with you because I have had a difficult time with injuries over the last four seasons or so.

"When I was released by Hearts I knew that Rovers were interested in me and they wanted me to go over and train with them. I went over for two weeks and thought that I had done quite well, then the manager spoke to me and said that they wanted to sign me.

"But when I went to the hospital and the scans were carried out, the medical staff thought that I would break down at some point because of the problems with the tear in my groin. The manager had no choice really but to tell me that they couldn't sign me. I was ready to quit football altogether to be honest. They have got really good training facilities though, so he offered me the chance to use their facilities to try to get myself back to full fitness.

"They weren't able to pay me, it all had to be off my own back," Sives went on. "The medical staff thought that I would be out for two months at least but as soon as I got over there I worked as hard as I could and I was back training within three weeks. I trained for a further three weeks and played a couple of reserve games and ended up signing for them.

"They told me that if I could break into the side and prove myself that they would reassess my contract and I managed to do that over the course of the last month or so and signed a year's extension just the other week there. It feels like things are maybe starting to work out for me but I've had a lot of knocks in the past so I'm not getting too carried away with anything.

"I was over here for two months without getting paid before I signed and that was pretty tough," he admitted. "Sitting here now it has all been worth it, but I was ready just to quit football and I had been applying for jobs in Edinburgh.

"I was actually offered a job with William Hill, working behind the counter taking all the betting slips and handing out winnings.

"I was caught in two minds – should take the job where I would be guaranteed a wage or should I try going to Ireland and maybe spend two or three months with no money coming in and not have any guarantees that it would work out for me,

"It was a difficult decision for me but I wanted to try to restart my career so I went for it.

"This is my last chance now, if anything else happens to me then I think that would have to be the end of it for me as a footballer."

Sives has been a regular in Rovers' starting line-up in recent times and revealed that he and the rest of the squad thought that someone was pulling their leg when it was first announced that Los Galacticos would be travelling to Ireland as part of their pre-season schedule.

However, it's all beginning to sink in it's an occasion that will live with him forever.

Sives came away from the glamour game with a top signed by Raul, along with the shirt worn by German defender Christoph Metzelder during the game – and a yellow card for fouling Ronaldo. "It was in the paper that I first heard about it and at that stage it was just rumours really.

"When we were told about it initially, I have to admit that I didn't believe it.

"The game itself was unbelievable, we hardly got a kick of the ball, I think I must have touched it about five times but you're still knackered. You're constantly on the move trying to keep in touch with them and the movement of players like Raul and Ronaldo is absolutely out of this world.

I've never played against strikers who make those sorts of moves, it was really difficult to mark them.

"You would look over one shoulder and there was Ronaldo behind you, then you looked over the other and it was Raul coming at you.

"I was asking myself what was going on at times. But I managed to keep a clean sheet for the time that I was on the park and not many people will be able to say that against a side like Madrid."

Sives and his team-mates have already faced Real and Championship newcomers Newcastle United and will take on Hibs at the Tallaght Stadium on Monday night, despite the fact that their FAI Premier Division season is already in full swing.

Rovers are second in the league table and Sives continued: "It was a great experience, we all really enjoyed it but at the end of the day the league is the most important things for us.

"The whole town was absolutely buzzing because Real Madrid were over and the players were all looking forward to it to. But to be fair to Michael O'Neill, he never really mentioned it in training, he had warned us that while it was a big game for the club, we couldn't afford to get carried away with the whole thing. Our season has been going pretty well so far, we're sitting second in the league and there's no way we want to take our eye off the ball on that side of things.

"Even when we play Hibs we have got to stay focused on the league because we play Bohemians on the Sunday in a Dublin derby and that is a huge game for us – it's like Ireland's version of the Edinburgh derby.

"It's nice playing in these kinds of games but at the end of the day I don't think the fans would be too bothered if we lost all of our friendlies, as long as we do well in the league – especially Sunday against Bohemians. That's all everyone is bothered about."

Having played in Scotland for seven years, Sives will see more than a few familiar faces when Hibs are the visitors on Monday night and he believes that manager John Hughes will be more than satisfied by the condition of the pitch in Dublin.

The former Hutchison Vale player said: "I will know who they all are.

"John Hughes was renowned for playing good football at Falkirk and I am sure that him and his players will relish coming over here because the pitch is in brilliant condition.

"I know for a fact that is just because Madrid were over, they wanted the grass to be 23 millimetres exactly so everyone was working on that to make sure it was perfect.

"It'll obviously be in the best of nick for Hibs on Monday night as well, it's looking the best I've seen it."

Since being released by Hearts in January, Sives admits that he's not really kept in touch with what has been happening at his old club or in Scottish football in general and prefers instead to focus on what the future has in store for him in the future: "I don't tend to keep too close an eye on what's happening in Scotland, I just try to stay away from what's going on.

"You can't afford to dwell on the past for too long, you would probably just end up getting bitter about everything that happened and I'm determined not to do that.

"I still keep in touch with a few of the boys from Hearts, I speak to Jamie MacDonald most weeks – and I still have a season ticket at Tynecastle, but that's for purely sentimental reasons really."

CRAIG SIVES

1986: Born 9 April, Edinburgh. Attends Oxgangs Primary School and Firrhill High School.

June 2002: Signs for Hearts after playing for Hutchison Vale Boys' Club.

4 September 2004: Makes his debut for the Jambos in the Festival Cup scoring the opening goal in a 3-1 victory. Makes two SPL starts in season 2004-05.

2005-06: Serious back injury rules out the 6ft 3in centre-half for the season.

July 2006: Signs five-year contract with Hearts.

2006-07: Spends the season on loan with Partick Thistle.

November 2006: Sidelined for four months with a pubic bone injury.

May 2007: Undergoes a double hernia operation.

2007-08: Signs for Dundee on loan for new season but does not play because of injury.

September 2008: Signs short-term loan deal with Queen of the South.

December 2008: Returns to Hearts.

January 2009: Released by Hearts.

13 June 2009: Makes debut for Shamrock Rovers in FAI Cup.

20 June 2009: Plays against Ronaldo as the world's most expensive player makes his debut for Real Madrid in Dublin.