With the Louth club preparing for Conference League football in 2025 following their FAI Cup triumph last month, Markey says it’s not ideal for a part-time club to be competing in Europe and feels Drogheda have a big opportunity now to transition to a full-time set-up to capitalise on their recent success.
Drogheda were the only part-time side in the Premier Division in 2024. Though he paid tribute to the work of boss Kevin Doherty and his teammates for winning the cup before securing top-flight status for next season, Markey shared an insight into how working and playing has been impacting him of late.
“I’ve spoken about it with Kev, the 12-hour days are catching up with me, I feel a bit burned out, to be honest,” said Markey, named SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month for November this week.
“If the club were to go full-time, I’d like for those days maybe to be finished with. It’s been great for me working [in accounts for a Tallaght-based construction firm], but at the same time, I do want to continue that.
“I’ve got a good relationship with my boss, it’s still a possibility for me to do afternoons. I’ve got a good CV now, so I could probably look for a smaller job elsewhere. Maybe a little while ago it was a factor, but now it’s probably more doable to take a step back.
“I suppose this year in particular, it’s been the most stressful year ever. The final few games just felt a bit burnt out. It’s such a rollercoaster. It felt like the longest year ever, but as I said, the best year ever.”
With Drogheda, owned by US group Trivela and currently operating a part-time hybrid model, the hope is that the club can move to a complete full-time set-up soon. Following last month’s play-off win over Bray Wanderers, Doherty said he hopes most of his 2025 squad will be full-time.
“I do think it’s a big opportunity for them,” said Markey, whose future at Weavers Park is still yet to be confirmed.
“A lot of part-time players who are working are top-class players in the league, you don’t want to lose them either. On the other side, you can lure in a lot of quality players who probably want to be full-time footballers. It’s a thing of weighing up what’s better for Kevin, Drogheda, Trivela, everyone involved. I do think a part-time club playing in Europe doesn’t sound right.
“It could be really exciting. I know the way Kev is, he’ll want that for sure. Now we’ve got the lure of European football as well, we’ll be a really attractive place for loads of people. We’ll see what happens I suppose.”
The midfielder played a key role in Drogheda’s memorable 2024 as Doherty’s side lifted their first FAI Cup in 19 years by beating Derry City in last month’s Lansdowne Road final before securing Premier Division safety just six days later with a play-off victory over Bray Wanderers.
“If you go back to May or June, I think everyone in the squad was at rock bottom, staff and fans, too. We never could have envisaged what was ahead of us,” added the Lucan man.
“But Kev and everyone did a great job to turn things around, from the worst few months of our careers to some of the most unforgettable few months. It was unbelievable. The team spirit to stick together can’t be underestimated. We’re really tight-knit and have been playing together for a long time so that shone through.
“I don’t think it [FAI Cup success] will sink in, maybe not until I retire. It definitely hasn’t yet. It was just such a blur. I watched the two games back and it still gives me goosebumps and will for the rest of my life. I don’t know when it will sink in.”
The 27-year-old becomes the first Drogheda player to win the award since Freddie Draper in May 2023, and just the third in the last decade following Gary O’Neill’s win in March 2014.
Markey won the award ahead of Shamrock Rovers’ Johnny Kenny, who came second in the voting, while teammate Elicha Ahui was third. Shamrock Rovers’ Dylan Watts, title-winning Shelbourne midfielder JJ Lunney and Drogs striker Frantz Pierrot were also on the shortlist.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 14:00:00
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