New signing Ryan Graydon sat down with us on Friday afternoon and spoke about his time over in Ireland, the move to Fleetwood, and how some familiar faces have helped him settle in at the club.
The 24-year-old - who has signed on a two-year deal, with the club holding an option of a further year - joins Town after a great season for League of Ireland side Derry City, which saw the young forward score twice and assist a further six goals.
Dublin-born Graydon started his career at League of Ireland side Bohemian – where Town signed forward Promise Omochere last summer – and went on to make his debut in 2019 in a win over St Patricks Athletic.
Here’s what Ryan had to say in his first interview:
On his move over to Fleetwood…
“It’s great to finally be here; I heard that there was some interest at the start of the year, which was exciting for me, but I just kept my head down over in Ireland and eventually got the deal done in July when the window opened – happy to be here and delighted to get going.
“The games come thick and fast over here, which is pretty similar to the schedule over in Ireland so I’m just looking forward to getting going and hitting the ground running. The gaffer has set goals for the season, and I’m delighted he’s brought me over here to be a part of it, so I’m hoping to help the lads reach those goals by adding goals and assists to my game.
“I’ve already had six months under my belt in Derry so it’s not like I’m coming into the side not fresh, I’ve got game time, so I feel fresh and ready to go already to attack the games going forwards – I’m just looking forward to it all.”
On his time playing in Ireland…
“Bohs [Bohemian] were great with me, I enjoyed my time there with Keith Long and Trevor Croly before I moved onto Bray [Wanderers], then to Longford, and on from there to Derry [City]. I spent the year there and have ended up over here; football is a mad game, and it moves quickly, I wasn’t expecting a year on from Derry that I’d be over here but that’s what has happened.
“My year at Derry was probably the best one in my career so far, I have memories that will last a lifetime from there! The likes of playing in Europe, which was one of my goals from the start. I signed for them on the Sunday, and we played in Europe against Riga on the Thursday, so I was thrown straight into a big game like that after three or four days of training.
“Obviously, winning the FAI Cup is another key part of that season as it’s a trophy you want to be competing in every season. To have played in the AVIVA Stadium in front of 30,000 people, Derry broke the record as they brought 25,000 people down themselves, it was a great memory for me.”
On his first couple of days at the club…
“It’s always nice when you got to new places and you see familiar faces, people you have known from playing back in Ireland as it helps you settle in a bit more and I’m just hoping that I hit the ground running now.
“It was good to get some minutes against Hearts on Wednesday, especially in the early days when you’ve only been in for two or three days of training before coming into a game, so it’s better for me to get game time in. It’s better than running in pre-season so getting any game minutes instead always helps!
“The lads are great, they made me feel welcome straight away when I came in, I couldn’t have asked them to do anymore. I just need to work with them now on the pitch to help them achieve the goals the gaffer has set out.”