Bradley remembers playing alongside Amond as he preps Shamrock Rovers on dealing with Waterford veteran

PÁDRAIG AMOND has been around so long that he played with Stephen Bradley.And the Shamrock Rovers boss reckons Amond — who turns 37 next Friday — still has a bit more in the tank, believing he was the best striker his side faced in Ireland last year.The savvy striker is still a very effective playerTallaght Stadium will witness tonight’s clash from 8 pmBradley — 21⁄2 years older — and Amond were together at the Hoops in 2009 and he knows the forward will carry a threat for Waterford at Tallaght Stadium tonight.

Bradley said: “When he’s still running the channels, out-running defenders, it makes you feel older and it’s a testament to him.“I am sure he had options in England at the time but he chose to come home.“He could be playing for the next few years, looking at his game and how he plays, how he has changed his game and improved.



“He was the best we played against domestically last year by some distance.“He caused us and most teams in the league real problems. His movement and timings are brilliant.

“He’s not as young as he was when I played with him but you can see the years away have moulded him into a really good centre-forward. You know he will punish you if you’re not on it.“He has shown already this year, we have to be on it to stop him.

”Amond was moonlighting as a Carlow hurler when he was with the Hoops before making his name at Sligo Rovers, earning a move to Pacos de Ferreira.His time in Portugal was cut short after one season before 13 years in England were spent between League Two and the National League. And Bradley reckons Amond could have played at a higher level if he had been in a full-time environment at an earlier age.

He said: “Possibly, there’s so much to fall into that, in terms of your path and what happens but he definitely has that ability.“If he was primed from a younger age could he have been more equipped to go and play at a higher level?“The chances are really high. When he was with us when I played, it was part-time, mostly, still training a couple of evenings a week.

“He wasn’t playing regularly, which contributes to it, but it would have given someone like him a better chance.”.