Dylan McGlade knows that heckling from rival fans will come as part of the territory and he's happy to embrace it - as long as it means he's still scoring. McGlade netted a brace on opening day and has failed to notch since but he brought his barre
Dylan McGlade knows that heckling from rival fans will come as part of the territory and he's happy to embrace it - as long as it means he's still scoring.
McGlade netted a brace on opening day and has failed to notch since but he brought his barren spell to a spectacular end as he downed Drogheda United with a hat-trick. With his flair and confident persona, he is an easy target for the opposition support but he is happy to fuel their jeers with goals.
'I think the last time I scored in the league was the first game of the season so it's good to round it up with a hat-trick and I think we really needed it. We need to start putting the ball in the back of the net more; we've been missing too many chances and me personally as well. We've been working on it in training and getting lots of shots in and thankfully it's worked out tonight.'
McGlade finds himself deployed behind the striker but it is far from a free role as boss Gary Cronin demands a high work-rate from the attacker.
'It probably is my favourite position. It gives me a chance to get closer to the goal and you can see by the goals that I scored on Friday that they're all kind of me being in and around the box. I do enjoy it there but I'm also doing the other side of the game that Gaz (Cronin) is trying to get into my head; getting around the six and trying to get onto knocked balls. I'm enjoying it in there and it's where I probably play my best football.
'Gaz is onto me all the time about the other side of the game and even today, he was telling me I'd be up there in the league as one of the best players attacking wise but he said I have to work on the other side of my game. I have been working on it in training but it's more of a concentration thing to make sure that I'm switched on and the second goal was just me being a bit smart and pressing when the chance came and thankfully it worked out.'
Instead of receiving abuse on Friday, he received the match ball but he's so concentrated on the latter that the former falls on deaf ears.
'I put myself out there all the time; I think people know that and I'm happy to take stick but it's always good to answer the critics. I've seen a few bits and pieces saying that I haven't been doing it in the last few weeks so that's the best way to answer by doing your talking on the pitch.
'I scored a lot of goals last season but what I think a lot of people mightn't realise is that I didn't start scoring until the end of May - that's when I really started to kick on. So hopefully I can start again coming into May and kick on and get myself on the scoresheet like I had been last year because I really want to help the team push up the league table. There's a lot of quality in our side and it's just about making it click on the day.'
