Former Republic of Ireland international Jim Beglin joined Off The Ball for a retrospective on his successful football career and paid great credit to John Giles along the way.
John Giles, along with Eamon Dunphy, coached Jim Beglin at Shamrock Rovers, where he played from 1980 to 1983 before moving to Liverpool.
"I think that that spell at Shamrock Rovers, which I was hoping to be my stepping stone to England, was great because of what I learned from John Giles," explained Beglin.
"He was brilliant in how he saw the game, how he thought it should be played and how it influenced me. That was fantastic for me."
John Giles' philosophy: passing with purpose
As to how Giles influenced him, Beglin believes that his philosophy on how to play the game helped develop a young football mind.
"You know the way he liked to play the game. He liked a passing game. But not just for the sake of getting on the ball and looking nice and stylish.
"It was with real purpose and real ambition. He wanted us to be as good as he possibly could.
"The whole thinking behind it then was to hold some of the best talent in Ireland in Ireland; to bring it to Shamrock Rovers. It was a professional setup when I joined it. It was to try and compete on the European stage.
"Obviously, if they brought the talent through strongly enough then they could make the money by selling it on to the English clubs.
"It didn't quite work out," said Beglin, who regards his Rovers' team-mates still in high regard.
"We would get nearly there - we were the nearly team. We played the football but didn't have the nous to secure the results on the League of Ireland stage."
The always-excellent @jimbeglin on his career-ending injury, working with Giles and Dunphy and being an optimist ⬇️ | #LFC @paddypower https://t.co/JKtyuTYUNv
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) May 3, 2020
The project was on tricky ground as a result, and Rovers helped their professional playing staff get jobs to supplement what would turn into a part-time football career.
"I had a shout to go to Arsenal, I thought I was going there, but that fell through. I had a commercial course with Aer Lingus, not to work with them, but to do a course on site there.
"I was a week into that when Liverpool came in.
"But Shamrock Rovers I will always thank, and John Giles. He changed me from a naive country kid, a culchie, into a switched-on pro; a hardened version of a professional footballer.
"He gave me great confidence and belief that I could go all the way."
