Conroy glad he is playing his part in converting chances

Dundee midfielder, Ryan Conroy, is delighted to be playing his part in rejuvenating the Dens Park club’s season, which has seen them move from bottom spot to third place just three points behind Falkirk after winning three games in a row.

Conroy helped get Barry Smith’s side’s fine run of results going with winning goals at Dens Park against Raith Rovers and at Morton’s Cappielow ground and he said: “We had been playing well all season but not taking our chances and we are finally doing that.  It was not just the strikers that weren’t scoring, it was right across the team and I am really pleased to have grabbed my two goals as that took the pressure off everyone.”

It is often said that goals change games and Conroy certainly agrees saying: “Goals lead to wins and wins lead to increased confidence and that is a big thing in football.  My job is to make goals and to score goals and I am glad I am doing both now.

“When you go on runs like the one we are on, you begin to fancy your chances in all of your games and long may that continue.”

The 24-year-old moved to Dens Park in the summer after 13 years as a Celtic player, which included top team appearances for the Parkhead side, as well as loan spells in the SFL at Partick Thistle and Queen of the South.

Conroy said: “I started playing with Celtic when I was 11 and I travelled from my Dumbarton home to grow up playing football alongside players such as Michael McGlinchey, Simon Ferry, Charlie Mulgrew, Scott Cuthbert and Charlie Grant.

“I was a supporter of Celtic before I went there and played in first team games for Gordon Strachan against Falkirk in December 2007 when we won 4-0 and then against Inverness Caledonian Thistle the following week.

“I played regularly throughout my youth career and all in all, it was a great experience to be at Celtic but I was not playing enough first team football so I had to go out on loan.”

Alongside his development with Celtic, Conroy was also an international regular through the age groups and he was part of the Scotland Under-19 squad that made it all the way to the Final of the 2006 European Championships that were held in Poland.  Conroy played in four of Scotland's five games and scored the opening goal in the group phase 3-2 win over Turkey, with the young Scots led by Archie Gemmill and Tommy Wilson unluckily going down 2-1 to Spain in the Final with Graham Dorrans, then of Livingston, scoring Scotland’s goal.

The Spanish side contained eventual World Cup winner Gerard Pique and Chelsea star Juan Mata in their ranks so it was certainly a case of being beaten but not being disgraced with Conroy saying: “Playing in that Euro Final is up there with the best things I have done in my career along with making my debut for Celtic.  I went on to become part of the squad that took part in the Under-20 World Championships in Canada the next year.

“That did not go as well as we lost our three games against Nigeria, Costa Rica and Japan but I played in every one of them which is something else to be proud of.”

Conroy made one further appearance for Celtic when he came on as a substitute in March 2009 against St. Mirren and despite his affection for the club and the long time he had spent there, he realised that he was going to have to move from Parkhead to play regular football.

In January 2010, Conroy joined First Division Partick Thistle and he said: “I was glad to go there as I was 22-years-old by then and there was not even a SPL Reserve League to play in at that time.

“I played 15 games between January and the end of the season before going back to Celtic for the new campaign."

With opportunities to break into the first team limited, Conroy decided to head out on loan again to the IRN-BRU SFL First Division with Queen of the South and again, he enjoyed the experience.

Conroy said: “I really enjoyed it down there especially working under Kenny Brannigan, who was a Manager that I really enjoyed working under.  I scored on my debut against Ross County and I also scored against Raith Rovers and then Cowdenbeath again in my second last game in the November.”

Conroy’s left footed goal from the edge of the box against the Kirkcaldy side last November was not only a matchwinner, it was a candidate for the November 2010 SFL Goal of the Month competition (Goal A) with Conroy saying only: “I would expect that the Raith Rovers fans are fed up with me as I scored my first goal for Dundee against them as well.”

The adverse weather that had the country in its icy grip a year ago denied Conroy a Cup Final appearance as The Doonhamers ALBA Challenge Cup contest against Ross County, that was scheduled for the last weekend in November, was called off and by the time it was played in April of this year, he had returned to the Parkhead club.

Conroy said: “I would have liked to have stayed longer but the terms of my loan deal did not allow that.  I was really sorry that I missed out on the opportunity to play in The Alba Challenge Cup Final because of the snow.

“That was hard to take and the weather also meant that I missed three chances to play my last game at Palmerston Park as well which is a shame as Queens were a good club and treated me well there.  The fans were supportive of me and I really appreciated that.”

Conroy’s goal against Rovers for Dundee at the beginning of last month was a much more close range affair as was his strike the following Saturday down at Greenock when the Dark Blues won 2-1.

“Those results were important as we had been playing well all season but had not been taking our chances.  The Falkirk win was another game where we showed what we can do but we converted our chances and that was a really important victory as they had beaten us twice already this season.”

The Dens Park side are away to Hamilton Academical tomorrow and Conroy is hoping that the momentum they have built up will lead them to another success as he explained: “We have to keep on going the way we have been going and see where that takes us.  Ross County are flying just now at the top and all we can do is keep playing well and chase them.  I know how good they are as I played alongside Paul Lawson, Michael Gardyne and Rocco Quinn at Celtic, so all we can hope for is that we close the gap and see what happens.

“Dundee are a big club and we want to be up there challenging.  We got off to a slow start but the Manager was brilliant with us and then four or five games in,  we started to pick things up. Only a few weeks ago, we were bottom of the table but three League wins in a row, as well as our Scottish Cup win at Stirling, has lifted everyone and I am really enjoying my time here.  If we keep on going the way we have been going, then we will have a good season.”