Brendan Rogers knows Conor Glass better than anyone.
The pair were midfield partners in Derry’s run to the All-Ireland semi-final this summer before coming up against each other this winter as rivals in the Derry club football championship.
Glass’ Glen team came out on top of that battle, defeating Rogers’ Slaughtneil in the county semi-final and, fast forward a couple of months, Watty Grahams are now looking forward to an Ulster final.
Rogers was on RTÉ punditry duty during Glen’s defeat of Donegal champs Naomh Conaill in the Ulster semi-final on Saturday, and after yet another impressive display from Glass, Rogers explained to his panel of Damian Lawlor and Conor McManus exactly what it is that sets the former AFL player apart.
“He’s a very humble character,” said Rogers.
“You can see all those leadership qualities in how he plays but then how he conducts himself around training, how he communicates with players.”
Glass spent five years playing AFL, making 21 appearances for Hawthron between 2016 and 2020 and Rogers says that, above all else, the main trait he brought back is calmness under pressure.
“He’s very clear in his messages and that’s why he is a leader, and that’s probably one of the biggest attributes that he brought back with him,” said Rogers.
“Just that bit of leadership, that bit of calmness and quality when things are getting tight.
“The big moments in this game, he made two brilliant blocks in the first half, winning the kick-outs when they needed him at the end.
“He’s always in the right place, and you can never under-estimate that, and it takes a lot of work to do that as well.”
Glass and Glen were unlucky last year, losing a controversial All-Ireland club final to Kilmacud Crokes but he says that redemption hasn’t been their main motivation this year.
“If you were striving towards getting back to an All-Ireland final, you weren’t going to get out of Derry, never mind getting back to the All-Ireland,” says Glass.
“Yes we have that fuel and hurt from last year, but as cliched as it sounds, we can only take it one game at a time.
“We’ve a fantastic set-up. Ryan Porter gets us going for the right stages, and that comes down to his experience.
💬 "It shows the character Naomh Conaill have and the character we have"
Conor Glass reacts after he and his Glen team-mates got over the line late on against Naomh Conaill to reach the Ulster Club SFC final
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— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) November 25, 2023
“He’s been in the GAA for ten, twenty years.
“He’s a fantastic coach to work around and he gets us all up to the standards we need to be. We mightn’t have been firing in the League campaigns, but our ultimate goal was obviously getting to the Derry final, Ulster final and the All-Ireland final.”
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