Clancy looking forward to the new Scottish soccer season

"There's someone on the phone for you. You may put the brush down and talk to him," called Seaneen Clancy to her husband Tim last Thursday afternoon. Playing professional football in the Scottish Premier League isn't as glamourous as it might seem. Trim man Tim Clancy had just returned from a gruelling pre-season training session with Kilmarnock and his first job was to clean up the mess left by a couple of children and a dog. There are no lavish post-training extravagances for Clancy, instead he returns to his family and continues with the everyday chores that most husbands find themselves engaged in after a hard day at the office. "I may be a professional footballer, but sometimes it can be embarrassing when I say that. I play football for a living and it is a great job, but I'm not a professional footballer in the same style as those that are well paid in the English Premier League," quipped Clancy. Clancy left his hometown of Trim over eight years ago to pursue every boy's childhood dream. He went from Trim Celtic to Belvedere Boys in Dublin and made enough of an impression to get snapped up by Millwall. Things didn't work out well in London for the former NECSL schoolboy star. He moved from Millwall to join Steve Claridge at non-league Weymouth before moving onto Fisher Athletic. His dream was fast becoming a nightmare. Then a chance to join Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League landed in Clancy's lap, he didn't need a moment to make up his mind as he moved northwards to re-launch a career that had made him an Ireland u-17 and u-19 international. "I was delighted to get another chance in Scotland and thankfully the last few years have been great and I've been able to do what I love doing, which is just to play football," he said. After a slow start to his Kilmarnock career, Clancy has become a firm favourite at Rugby Park. His first manager there Jim Jeffries took a shine to him and gave him his break, but injuries curtailed the Trim man. A broken ankle towards the end of his first season left him in limbo, but he returned from that impressively and made a decent start to last season before breaking his elbow in a home game against Rangers. That injury ruled Clancy out from September to February, but when he came back it was in a blaze of publicity as his return to first team action coincided with Robbie Keane's Celtic debut. "That injury was a setback. I had started the season and was doing well. I landed awkwardly after a Kris Boyd tackle and that ruled me out. "I managed to return in February and I played in 17 of the last 18 games as we managed to hold onto our Premier League status," said the full-back. While Clancy was out of action, Kilmarnock's form suffered greatly. They couldn't get themselves out of the relegation quagmire and when the 26-year-old returned to the fray he found himself in a team that was battling to stay up. "We were in danger of going down, but we did enough towards the end of the season to stay up. We went to Aberdeen in our second last game and went a goal down. We had only scored four away goals all season, but we recovered to win 2-1. "Falkirk won that night too and that meant that we just needed a draw to stay in the top flight. That was a good weekend for us because we got the draw and we stayed up, but it wasn't the type of season we want to be endure again." Clancy got married during his summer break. He reckons he might have taken too much advantage of the break and admitted that he is finding pre-season very tough, but he is looking forward to the challenge. "Our main objective has to be Premier league survival again. If we get off to a good start then we can re-evaluate our aims, but we must stay in the top flight, that's the priority." Clancy's feet remain firmly on the ground. He is surrounded by people that don't let his job description give him a big head. He also has a very loyal bunch of friends from Trim that visit him regularly. "My lifestyle couldn't be further from what people believe a professional footballers life is. I have some friends that come to visit a few times a season and it is great to see them. "I live in Kilmarnock and do some of the school visits. I remember when a professional player came to Trim Celtic we were so thrilled to meet them so I do try to get out to the schools as much as I can because I know those kids love to meet us," concluded Clancy. Clancy's career has been a rollar-coaster and while he is not earning the big bucks associated with the over-hyped superstars of the game, he has developed a relationship with the local fans that has made him a hero in Ayrshire and a very proud Trim man.