Our team at BylineCoverage, the leading iGaming SEO agency, sat down with ex-Northern Ireland international and prolific Football League striker Conor Washington to talk about his career, including breaking into the football pyramid from step 5 to representing Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.
Newport County
Newport Gave You Your First Big Break in Football – How Would You Rate Your Time at the Club, and How Do You Think Hayden Mullins Will Do as Manager?
I’ll always be very grateful to Newport for giving me the opportunity. It was obviously a gamble signing somebody from step five. Justin Edinburgh was a huge part of that and a huge part of my career in the next sort of 18 months when I was there. He really pushed me to fulfil my potential. It was a great club; it had a real family feel about it. The fans were excellent. I enjoyed living up there. It was a fantastic opportunity that I really relished, and ultimately, the club didn’t stand in my way either when the chance arose to move as well. So a lot of appreciation and gratitude for everybody associated with Newport, a great time in my life, and obviously the start of my career as well.
In terms of the new manager, there’s been a lot of upheaval at the club in terms of managers in and out, and I think they just need a period of sustainability and a bit of continuity, especially in the manager department. There have been so many over the years. I think it’s a good appointment. He’s got a hell of a lot of experience playing and has now coached for a good number of years at a really good level as well, so it seems like a natural step. He’s been around the levels, so it’s not going to be a surprise to him. I think it’ll be a good appointment, and I wish him all the best.
Peterborough
Harry Leonard Had a Solid First Season – How Highly Do You Rate Him, and Could He Be the Next Big-Money Transfer for the Club?
He had a great season, and I think in a team that probably didn’t perform particularly well either. That league’s getting tougher and tougher now for a club like Peterborough to keep doing what they’re doing, and it’s fantastic that they still do, to be fair. Listen, I don’t want to upset the chairman; he’s been great to me, and I’ve got a good relationship with him, so I don’t want to be touting around his players to get sold. But ultimately, that is the game. If he goes and has another similar season to the one he’s just had, then obviously clubs up the pyramid are going to be looking at him.
Peterborough will probably do what they’ve always done and cash in and then find the next one, which is a real testament to the scouting network, and obviously the chairman and everybody associated with the club’s eye for talent. Everybody’s tried to replicate what they’ve done by looking into the lower leagues, but I just don’t think anybody’s done it quite as well as Peterborough have. So hopefully he has another good season for himself and obviously for the club as well, because they won’t stand in his way if a reasonable offer comes in, and then they’ll be on to the next one.
Sheffield United
Chris Wilder Was in Charge When You Got Promoted – What’s He Like as a Manager, and Can He Get Them Challenging for Promotion Again?
I had a brilliant season under Chris at Sheffield United. I’m actually working at Sheffield United now, so I see him relatively regularly. He’s a great character. We moan about it a lot, don’t we, that the game doesn’t have characters anymore, and Chris is a real big character. He’s got an infectious personality and drives standards as well, which is really important. There’s no time for down days. He embodies that in the way that he approaches training and being in every day, and just the demands and the quality that he puts into the sessions with his staff.
I’d be more surprised if they aren’t challenging for promotion again, to be honest, just with the track record that he and the staff have got. And hopefully he’ll be backed by the owners in the transfer market to go and make a squad capable of being at the top end of the Championship again, which he’s obviously done numerous times now. As a manager, he can be ruthless when he needs to be, and I sort of fell foul of that, I guess, towards the back end of the season.
But ultimately, his goal was to get the club promoted, and he brought in other players to help do that. So I’ve got total respect and understanding of that, and left with his best wishes at the time, and have had a good relationship with him since. So like I say, I’d be more surprised if Sheffield United weren’t challenging for promotion again.
Hearts
What Attracted You to Sign for Hearts, and Did You Turn Down Other Offers?
Austin McPhee was the Northern Ireland assistant, and at the time I’d just come out of contract at Sheffield United and was looking for the next opportunity. I had quite a few offers in League One, probably financially better ones to be honest at the time, but it just felt like a really good project. Hearts is obviously an enormous club; you’re playing in front of twenty-plus thousand people most weeks.
It was a different challenge for me, getting to play in different stadiums and against enormous teams like your Rangers, your Celtics, and then the Derbys were fantastic with Hibs as well. So it was an easy move really in terms of selling it. And I think Edinburgh was a fantastic city to live in. My family and I really enjoyed it. So that was an easy one for me really.
Can You Put Your Finger on Why Things Didn’t Turn Out Well in That 2019-20 Season?
We had a change of management relatively early on, and then we had a bit of an interim period, and then we had another manager come in that ripped the script up, if you like, and wasn’t necessarily doing things that SPL teams were doing at the time. It took us a long time to adapt to that. I think we were showing signs that we might be able to get out of it, and then obviously the season gets curtailed by COVID, and we end up going down on points per game.
It’s difficult to put your finger on. We had a lot of injuries at really unfortunate times. We probably had our four main starters out injured all at once, and it just seemed to be one after the other, really. John Souttar had a bad one. I had a bad one. Jamie Walker had a bad one. We just never really got into any rhythm of playing a consistent team. And like I say, there was a big change mid-season with the style and things like that. And then I think you almost fall into that big club trap, really, of thinking, oh no, it’ll be all right, we won’t get relegated, we’ve got too much quality. As we’ve seen at the top level, you can fall into that trap really easily and think you’ll just get out of it. And once you’re in it, it’s difficult to turn it around.
How Did You Find Both Craig Levein and Daniel Stendel as Managers?
Craig Levein was great, a really good man manager, and I had a good relationship with him. He was probably a little bit more old school in his approach to tactical stuff – a totally different style to Daniel Stendel, to be fair, who then came in. Daniel was very much high press, high tempo, very specific about what he wanted out of possession, whereas Craig was probably slightly different and we were a bit more structured behind the ball rather than the German counter-pressing way of playing and being high-press against everybody.
We just found it difficult with the way Scottish football gets played. A lot of the time, balls are getting turned around corners, and they beat the initial press. So very, very different going from manager to manager.
You Left After One Season Despite Signing for Two – Was That Down to Not Wanting to Play in the Scottish Championship?
I’m a striker that wanted spacing behind, and there wasn’t going to be much of that in the Scottish Championship, unfortunately, with the way Hearts were going to play. A new manager came in, Robbie Neilson, and they obviously wanted to shift some lads off the wage bill anyway. If I’m honest, there was probably a little bit of a sour taste about how the wages were handled in the COVID period as well, for me personally and a few others at the club. But bygones will be bygones now, really.
I just had some good offers from back down in England, and it just felt like the right time to go back. There’s a part of me that wishes I’d stayed and been part of the team that got promoted back. But obviously football doesn’t work like that. A great period, really enjoyed it. Great club, fantastic fan base – probably one of the best ones I played in front of – and I had a couple of real standout moments in my career playing for Hearts.
Did You See Much of How Last Season Unfolded, and What Did You Make of Craig Halkett’s Form?
I desperately wanted them to win the league in the end. It was such a shame for it to happen the way it did so late on in the season, and they were absolutely fantastic for so long. And then obviously the team probably gets picked apart a little bit now, losing Shankland and things like that, and losing the manager. So it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hearts, really. Hopefully they can get themselves back up there and challenge, and they should have the belief now to go and challenge at the top end of the table and try and break up those two a bit more regularly.
Halkett is a brilliant player. I was really surprised at the levels he played at. I felt from day one that he had all the attributes you’d want from a centre half. He’s aggressive, he’s strong, he’s fast, good on the ball, happy to take the ball, and also happy to be left in big spaces with quick attackers. He’s done really well, and it’s no surprise that he’s played so many games now for Hearts.
Rotherham
How Would You Describe Your Time at Rotherham, and Will They Be Challenging for Promotion This Season?
I really enjoyed my time at Rotherham. Again, a great period in my career. I played probably some of my best football in the first half of that season, played under Paul Warne, and played up front with Michael Smith. We had a great team, a great team spirit. They’d just come off the back of promotion. So it was a really, really enjoyable period. We took a lot of scalps early doors in that season, played some brilliant football, and it just felt like it was us against the world, really. We were expected to go and lose every game comfortably, and we ended up beating Reading at home; we beat Birmingham at home. I think we probably struggled away from home a little bit to replicate that form, but by the time the manager left in November or December, we were top 10 in the table, so we probably did enough in that first half of the season to keep us up eventually.
A fantastic club. I still know a lot of people there, and I’m relatively local now working at Sheffield United, so I cross paths with a lot of the Rotherham staff and things like that. One of my old managers, Steve McClaren, has just gone in as director of football. They’ve made some good signings over the last few days, to be fair, so I can imagine they’ll fancy themselves to be there. Obviously in League Two, three go up and one through the playoffs, which makes it a little bit more viable. So I can imagine they’ll have ambitions to be in those top three, definitely.
You Played Under Both Paul Warne and Matt Taylor – What Are Your Views on Those Two as Managers?
Paul Warne brought me in and was absolutely fantastic with me. We had a really close relationship when I was there, and I ended up playing for him at Derby as well. So a fantastic manager. He got everybody on side and playing the right way, and cultivated that culture of us against the world and hard work, and represented the wider community at Rotherham, to be fair, which was obviously great.
Matt Taylor was a little bit different, a slightly different character, and we probably didn’t hit it off straight away. We hashed it out towards the end of the season. I think we both understood where each other were coming from with things that happened during the season, but ultimately he kept us up and did really well. Just different personalities, I guess, is probably my biggest takeaway between those two.
Derby
You Struggled with Injuries in Your Second Season – Do You Wish Things Had Gone Differently at Derby?
If I’m honest, I struggled with an injury in the first season as well. I’d just got myself back fit and was playing well, in the team and scoring – scored a couple in a row – and I thought, all right, it’s time to kick on now. This was probably around late November. And then I just had an absolute freak accident stepping off the coach at Northern Ireland after a game. I was due to fly back the next morning, and just where the bus had been parked was right on a curb, and I stood on it and ruptured three ankle ligaments, needed surgery and was out for four months. So by the time I got back it was end of March, early April, and the lads had been absolutely flying, done really well and got us promoted. I was really looking forward to getting back out there in the Championship season.
But then again, just little niggles in pre-season, and suddenly you’re out of favour. I hadn’t played in a long time, never really got into any rhythm. Just after the ankle surgery, it’s obviously difficult to then come back, especially at 31, 32, and you’ve had injuries previously as well. I just kept picking up little one-week, 10-day, two-week injuries that just kept me from building any momentum, and then suddenly you find yourself out of the squad and out of the 25. It was a difficult period. I ended up just throwing myself into playing for the 21s and trying to get back fit towards the end of the season.
But I’m really glad to see that they’ve built on the success of getting promoted and staying up, and then had a great season last year, making a really late push for the playoffs. I’d imagine they’ll be looking to do something similar this year. They’ve made some really good signings and kept together a core nucleus of really good footballers, and the manager’s brilliant at what he does – very organised, leaves no stone unturned and demands high standards. So absolutely no surprise that he’s had the success he’s had so far.
Eiran Cashin Was a Big Part of the Promotion Team – Can He Make It at Brighton or Would a Championship Move Help?
Cash was brilliant. He was always keen to learn and wanted to really test himself. He came on a lot in a really short space of time from playing really regularly, which was great to see. I think he’s still got all the attributes to make it at the top level. It would just be a little bit of luck, a little bit of fortune, getting in the team and getting a run together of three, four, five games where he feels really comfortable at the level and can show his attributes.
It’s difficult, especially as a centre-half, to be in and out and coming in for a game or two, especially at the level we’re talking about now. The players he’s playing against, there’s no room for rust or lack of match fitness or anything. You need to be bang at it, especially in the way that Brighton play, which is really ballsy, I guess, is probably the word, in terms of defensively. But Cash has got all the attributes. A spell in the Championship playing regularly might help him then kick on, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Like I say, he’s got all the attributes to go and make it at that level.
Northern Ireland
How Big a Boost Is It That Michael O’Neill Didn’t Go to Blackburn and Is Fully Committed to the National Team?
Michael’s obviously the figurehead of Northern Irish football, and has been over the last eight to ten years really, if not longer. He’s fantastic to play for; I really enjoyed it. The best moments of my career for sure were playing for Michael for Northern Ireland. So massive gratitude to him and the Irish FA for making that all possible.
I think it was absolutely huge.
Listen, if anybody could have done a dual role, I think Michael could have done it, especially with his staff and stuff like that. Everybody knows what he expects at every single camp, so I don’t think it would have been too difficult. But at the same time, I think it’s a massive coup for Northern Ireland and the IFA that they’ve managed to keep him and for him to be fully committed.
How Impressed Were You with Sunderland Duo Trai Hume and Dan Ballard in the Premier League Last Season?
I’ve known them both a long time. Dan was a skinny little 17-year-old when I first met him, and his determination, his grit, and I think everybody’s heard the stories about how many times he got released and then re-signed at Arsenal, just really sums him up as a person and a player. He’s never let any setback affect him. He just seems to crack on and just get better and better and better.
It’s been absolutely fantastic to see them both do so well in the Premier League, and it’s no real surprise. I mean, Trai’s a brilliant footballer. You could see that from day one. He’s managed to make himself really effective at that level. He’s so aggressive, and his quality on the ball is there for all to see. So I don’t think it’s a huge surprise to see either of them doing so well.
How Important Is It for Club and Country That Conor Bradley Comes Back to Full Fitness?
Conor’s just been painfully unlucky with injuries, really, and you hope that he’s used all of his bad luck up and can really get a consistent run at it, because when he has done that previously, he’s looked absolutely excellent. He just goes from strength to strength. It reminds me a little bit of Stuart Dallas – they play at a certain level, and then they just seem to be able to go for another gear, another gear, another gear, and then suddenly you’re an established Premier League player playing week in, week out.
I think Conor can definitely do that, and I think it’ll be important for club and country that he manages to get himself back fit. What I would say about Conor is a little bit similar to Dan – they use every setback as a chance to get better. I remember when Conor had a back stress fracture; by the time he came back, he looked like a man. So I think he’ll be using it as an opportunity to set himself up for a really good season.
Does Bradley Have the Potential to Emulate Robertson and Alexander-Arnold?
I think Conor’s obviously very different to Trent. Probably a little bit more similar to Andy Robertson in terms of the all-action attacking, defending 1v1s and being able to contribute to attacks. He’s obviously a very clever footballer as well, Conor, and contributes a lot to Northern Ireland’s attacking play.
So I can see the idea behind the comparisons and things like that. But at the same time, Conor’s a brilliant footballer in his own right, and everybody at Liverpool that signs for them in those fullback areas is going to have a similar issue with being compared to those two. But Conor’s a great footballer in his own right, and I’m sure he’ll go on to have a brilliant career and then be getting spoken about in the same breath as those two, hopefully.
Jonny Evans Is on the Coaching Staff Under Carrick at United – Does He Have Ambitions to Become a Manager?
Jonny’s understanding of the game is second to none really, and Michael leaned on him a lot with tactical stuff, and how it felt on the pitch and what he thought. You could always see it even when he was stood on the ball; he was dictating the play around him so that the passing lanes could be open for the next one. His game understanding is brilliant, and he was horrible to play against as a striker. Jesus, you just never felt like you knew where he was. You tried to run in behind, and he was already there. You went to feet, and he was snapping at your heels, and he was very difficult to play against in possession as well.
He’s a top player, and I think he’ll go on to be a really good coach. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s working at the top level already after having such a good career, and it’d be great for him to impart all his experience and knowledge onto those players. I think nobody’s ever really quite sure about what you want to do when you finish, but I’m sure Jonny’s got a taste for coaching now, and the type of personality he is, I’m sure he would want to lead and be a manager one day potentially.
Is Paddy McNair’s Experience Something That Can Keep Hull Up This Season?
Interesting to see Paddy go from a young lad with so much potential to being a fully fledged top international player, really effective for the national team and every club he’s been at. He’s so versatile and so physically gifted that he manages to fit in wherever he’s asked to, really, and he’s probably cleverer than a lot of people give him credit for in terms of his game understanding, obviously having to play between four, five, six positions at times.
He’s had a lot of experience at really good levels of football, and he’s such a level-headed, chilled player that I don’t think it’ll faze him that Hull are obviously tipped to be in a relegation battle. I think he’ll be going there and thinking that he can really contribute to keeping them up.
How Desperate Will Shea Charles Be to Secure a Premier League Move, and How Big Will That Be for His Development?
I can’t imagine anything about Shea Charles being desperate, to be honest, just from seeing his character up close. He’s very calm, very composed, and whatever comes his way, he seems to handle and just goes on to the next thing. So I don’t think he’ll be knocking the door down or worrying particularly about getting back to the Premier League. But as we all know, he’s got Premier League ability, and it’ll just be a case of when, not if, for him.
I think he’s done the Championship now, and the Premier League would be great for him if he can get in there. He obviously needs to play in a team that suits his style and what he wants, and the way he plays. So I think it’s important for him that his next move is at a level that can further develop him as a player and also showcase his abilities, really.