‘I think he will be brilliant here for us’ – Ireland man Jamie McGrath backs Gavin Molloy to make Aberdeen impact
Ireland's Jamie McGrath before the friendly match against Hungary at the Aviva Stadium last month. Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Shelbourne's Gavin Molloy has joined Aberdeen.
Ireland international Jamie McGrath has backed compatriot Gavin Molloy to make a big impact at Aberdeen in the coming season.
McGrath (27) is gearing up for his sixth full season of cross-channel football, having moved to St Mirren from Dundalk in 2019 as he has settled in well in club football in Britain, bar a misstep with Wigan Athletic.
Aberdeen did lose one Irishman from the squad over the close season as veteran Jonny Hayes retired and turned down the offer of an academy role at the club to explore other options as he’s now expected to take up a coaching position with former club Celtic.
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But McGrath will be joined in the squad this season by Dubliner Molloy, who joined the Dons from Shelbourne last month.
“Gavin is a player I am very aware of. He has been a big name back home for a while. He has a really good reputation in Ireland," says McGrath.
“His team were top of the league. I would tune in every Friday night and watched them play quite a bit. So I knew a lot about him, then on Saturday I got to see him in the bounce game and he looked really good.
Shelbourne's Gavin Molloy has joined Aberdeen.
"He has settled in very well, he is a really good lad. I think he will be brilliant here for us. And it is good to have another Irishman here!”
While the international season was a disappointment for McGrath, who was an unused sub in all four friendly games under John O’Shea, he had a good campaign at club level, where he was the club’s second-top scorer with nine goals in 34 league games.
“Last season for me personally, it was a positive one. To get back playing and to get back into the international team, it was a positive season for myself. To play 48 games makes you feel that the body is a bit more robust,” he said.
“As a team there were some unreal nights to look back on and when I retire, I will think a lot about some of the cup games from last season but the league form was not good enough, despite finishing the campaign strongly.
"Hopefully I can take that (my form from last season) into the new season and help the team be much more consistent in the league.”
