Josh Daniels leaves 'comfort zone' to prove himself as a player

By Gary Ferry

Josh Daniels has unfinished business with Derry City.

The 21-year-old has ended a five year spell with Derry City to sign a two-year deal with Irish League side Glenavon, citing his desire to play regular first team football as the key reason behind his departure.

Once courted by Manchester United, Everton and Nottingham Forest, Daniels has struggled to make the impact he liked at the Brandywell in recent seasons, and with a move to England still in his sights, only regular football will help him achieve his goals.

“I think most people understand that I am ambitious,” he told the Derry News. “I want to go to England so if I’m going to do that I need to be somewhere where I’m playing every week. I need to get 90 minutes which will bring confidence but most of all I need to be enjoying it.

“They have backed me 100%. Derry City have been amazing throughout my five seasons there and especially last year when I went through the toughest year of my life they have been there as have the fans especially. There are no burnt bridges between me and Derry City. I’m still a fan and I’ll be at all the games but for me it’s about getting a fresh start.”

Josh made just nine starts for Derry City this season, with eleven extra appearances coming from the substitutes’ bench. Far from a regular starter, Josh was still in Kenny Shiels’ thoughts, but ten minutes here and there was no good to the winger, who wanted more than just cameo appearances.

“I was comfortable at Derry City,” he said. “They didn’t push me away, I made this decision myself. It was tough but I don’t want to be comfortable watching games. I need to be playing so I want to challenge myself and go out and show people what I can do this year.

“It’s my home town and I wanted to play for them from day dot but by no means is this the end for me at Derry. I still have a point to prove. I still feel like I’m good enough to be playing for Derry City but if I’m not getting the minutes there and I’m not getting confidence then I need to go elsewhere and challenge myself. People might be comfortable to sit there and it’s easy to go to training five minutes away, but I don’t want an easy option anymore.

“Realistically for me, having that challenge of travelling and getting to know new people where I’m out of my comfort zone, I need that. I think people will understand and respect that I’m not happy sitting on the bench for Derry. I’ve been there for five seasons but it’s time for a change and time for me to be doing what I do best.”

Daniels’ best spell at Derry came last summer when he scored three goals in four games, his equaliser against Finn harps in the 2-2 draw at the Brandywell a moment of great emotion following the tragedy which had struck the Daniels family earlier in the year.

It was Josh’s best spell as a Derry City player, but it didn’t last.

“I scored three goals in a week and a half,” he recalled. “It was around the summer break. I was very confident at that time. After the break we came back and we drew with Wexford in a really boring game. There was no attacking flair and after that I was dropped.

“Obviously it’s the manager’s team and I can’t dictate who he plays but I thought I was flying and I was hitting the ground running. I was confident and I was working hard at the time. I’ve been in and out of the team but I have never got over four starts for Derry and if I was to go in now and get 20 or 30 games I think I would be a different animal, and that’s what I want to do – show people that I can do damage when I’m confident.”

Education

A former student of Sports Coaching and Development, Daniels is also considering returning to education in the near future.

“I was talking about that when I was at Derry as well,” he admitted. “I was going to go back to the North West Regional College to study and now that I have signed with Glenavon and that I have this extra time, I might go back. If I do it won’t be sports related, I want to open up other avenues for my future, but I haven’t enquired about that yet but that could be on the cards definitely.”

Daniels goes straight into the squad to face Glentoran at Mourneview Park tomorrow night with the Lurgan Blues hoping to retain their place at the top of the IFA Premiership with a fourth consecutive league win. Breaking into a team in such form will not be easy he acknowledges.

“They have scored 12 in the last two games and I was at both games,” he said. “They are looking very good this year. They have a group of good young players. I don’t expect to go in and start straight away. How can you drop a player if they have scored six in the last two games? I’ll just have to work hard in training. I like what Gary is doing down there. They have been in two cup finals in the last three years.  Silverware is key but I need to get back and enjoying it and everything else will follow after that.”