Keith Cowan: ‘I’m a Drogheda United player and I have to put sentiment to bed’

Keith Cowan was taken by as much surprise as anyone when Kevin Doherty dialled in.

Cowan was enjoying his time at Dungannon Swifts. So much so that he felt ‘resigned’ that he would see out his senior career at Stangmore Park.

Doherty, the Drogheda United manager, rang him with an offer of a return to the League of Ireland Premier Division.

Cowan’s first outing back in the Premier Division is at Finn Park on Friday night. The 36-year-old returns to Finn Harps, for whom he made over two hundred appearances across two different spells at the club.

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“It’s funny how it falls,” Cowan told Donegal Live. “When I left Glentoran, my first game for Dungannon was up at the Glens.

“I’ve had a lot of great nights and memories at Finn Harps. It’s a bit easier in that it’s basically a totally new group of players I’ll be playing against. There aren’t too many of my former team-mates still there. It’s not the team I left.

“I’m a Drogheda United player and I have to put sentiment to bed a bit. I just have to try to do the best I can for Drogheda United.

“Finn Harps is still the club I support so it’ll be strange walking out from the other dressing room.”

Keith Cowan playing for Drogheda United against Dundalk last Friday

A former Harps captain, Cowan left in 2019 and spent some time at Glentoran, winning the Irish Cup in 2020 and playing in Europe.

He moved to Dungannon, but Doherty’s offer of a place back in the League of Ireland proved too tempting.

“The wheels started to turn and I just thought that maybe it was something I should give a go,” he said.

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“I was very happy at Dungannon. I was resigned to playing out my senior football there. Dungannon were brilliant, they’re a really nice club. But when Kevin called, it interested me.

“Dungannon probably suited better too with having the summer off from school. The challenge of Drogheda more than anything struck a chord.

“It’s a chance to have a crack at the League of Ireland from a different standpoint. It’s a new club, a fairly big club at that. Kevin spoke to me about his approach and how he wanted to do things. I was impressed. The chance to play with the likes of Gary Deegan, Georgie Poynton, Ryan Brennan, Chris Lyons, they have good experience. I wanted to be a part of it to see what we could do.”

A teacher at Coláiste Ailigh, joining the county Louth club will present some logistical challenges for the centre-back.

He has been indebted to the support of school principal Micheál Ó Giobúin, Rose McLaughlin the vice principal and the Donegal ETB.

“The school is brilliant,” Cowan said. “Luckily, school finishes at 1.15pm on a Friday, which is a massive help.

“It was similar traveling when I went up to Glentoran. Kevin will work with me. That was a conversation we had early on. I don’t have to be there for every single session, but I’ll get there as much as I can. I look after myself as much as possible and I do my extra bits and pieces. If my performances aren’t good enough, he might want me in a bit more.

“Kevin trusts his players to take responsibility and I can be more flexible when school finishes for the summer.

“I’ve really enjoyed it. The lads couldn’t do enough and the club gives us all great support.”

Drogheda ended their pre-season campaign with a 2-1 win over Dundalk in the annual Jim Malone Cup final at Oriel Park. It was Drogheda’s first time to win the fixture since 2014 with James Clarke and Chris Lyons netting for the Boynesiders.

“I don’t think we played as well as we could play,” Cowan said. “The result wasn’t as important as the performance. We had a shaky start, but we rode out the storm. There was a great crowd there and a huge atmosphere. It felt like a real derby - and no-one wants to lose a derby.

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“It was a good confidence booster for us. Winning that game definitely gave us a lift. We still have some lads to come back into the team again. It was an important game; the last game of pre-season is when everyone wants to put themselves into the managers thoughts.”

Drogheda, much like Finn Harps, have lost a lot of players from their 2021 roster. Both clubs are tipped to be in the battle to avoid the drop, but Cowan doesn’t see Friday’s season-opener as being a defining game.

Having led Harps for so long, the Ramelton man doesn’t expect much in the way of surprises this week.

He said: “We have been preparing well ourselves. I have a fair idea - but I think everyone does - what Harps’ approach will be like. Through the years under Ollie, Harps have done pretty well in the opening game. It’ll be a tough battle and whoever wins the battle will win the game,

“Games like this can take on a life of their own sometimes, but we know what a game agains Harps will entail.

“Ollie is coming in with a new set of players, which might work to his advantage as we don’t know much about them. They still have a good core about them and have plenty of experience.

“We’re just looking to build at Drogheda. You don’t know exactly what’s possible until you see what everyone has, but we have a lot of good lads in there.”