Kerrigan looking to build momentum again

After a difficult period, Tubbercurry’s Liam Kerrigan is looking forward to getting back to playing football regularly following on from his recovery from an ACL injury. The former Republic of Ireland U21 international, who is at Serie B club Como 1907, moved out on loan to Serie C side Novara during the January transfer window.

“To be honest, they knew that I needed to go out on loan. I was coming back from the ACL injury and needed to get back to the stage where I could be trusting my body. Since joining Novara I have been starting and have already played more minutes in 2024 than I did in the whole of 2023, which is the most important thing.

“I had been looking at going on loan to a club closer to home, maybe in England, but Como preferred for me to stay in Italy. My agent isn’t Italian so I asked the club could they help out and they got me a few options and Novara was the one I picked. It is less than an hour away from Como which means I can stay in my house as it can be hard to find accommodation for three to four months. I’m commuting daily but it would be similar nearly to what most people have to do at home.

“Novara are a big club, they have played in Serie A before and have an 18,000 seater stadium. So for me it has been a while since I was playing consistently and this is what I need. In terms of the language I can understand it well and don’t need a translator but I don’t speak it too much as the lads find it hard to understand Italian with a Sligo accent! On the pitch they speak to me in Italian and I can understand them.” 

Novara are currently 17th in Group A of Serie C but Kerrigan feels that this is a false position and hopes to help them move up the table while his parent club Como are currently pushing for promotion to Serie A.

“They (Novara) had a bad start to the year but even though I am only in a couple of weeks, it doesn’t look to me like they should be where they are. They had a change of ownership in September and I was one of ten new arrivals in January. Hopefully that will help to shake things up and get the club moving back up the table.

“Como are doing great and that was nearly the worst thing for me as I was coming back from my injury and they kept winning, which made it difficult to try and break into the team. To be fair to Como they weren’t trying to force me to go on loan and were quite happy for me to stay but were honest with me in saying that my first-team chances would be limited. I wanted to play as I am coming off the back of two years of broken football. I am lucky as well in that I am contracted until the end of the 2026 season.

“When I signed for Como first I was coming in off the back of a good season with UCD and had been playing for the Ireland U21’s. I was playing well and had scored and really felt that I had momentum behind me and then I got injured. So this move is about getting my confidence back and that momentum going again and that I will be ready to get going with Como next season be they in Serie A or B.” 

Serie C is regionalised which means that at the end of the regular season there are playoffs for promotion and relegation and Kerrigan is hoping to be a part of those games with Novara.

“The Serie C season goes on until the end of April, however, there are playoffs after that. It’s regionalised so there are three divisions. You have some big teams in the league, the likes of Vicenza, Catania, SPAL, Pescara and so on. One team goes up automatically and then the teams from 2nd to 10th go into a playoff. Only one goes down automatically and then there is a play-out with 19th playing 16th and 17th against 18th. So really there are only five places in mid-table where you would have no post season.

“At the moment we are five points off safety but also only seven points off the promotion playoffs so there is a lot to play for. I think it’s great that it means the season doesn’t just sizzle out.” 

Before going on loan to Novara, Kerrigan was being coached by former World Cup and Premier League winner Cesc Fabregas who had been playing with Como and is now still part of the coaching staff. It was something that he really enjoyed.

“The sessions were of mad quality. Cesc was very involved and still is, even though he is no longer the caretaker manager. Now that Osian Roberts is in until the end of the season, Cesc has stayed on as his assistant and there wasn’t too much change for us as he was still taking the training. They were and are incredibly intense sessions but in a good way. He has a very clear idea of how he wants his team to play and does a lot of work on the pitch and off the pitch as he provides very detailed video analysis.” 

The Irish contingent at Como grew in January with the club signing highly-rated Irish youth international Naj Razi from Shamrock Rovers, although Kerrigan is yet to meet him.

“Yeah Naz came in just after I had left. I still meet up with a lot of the lads from Como and I’m sure once he is settled in that we will meet up. Como isn’t that big a place.” While he will be busy looking to get Novara up the table, Kerrigan will also be keeping tabs on the new League of Ireland campaign watching his former clubs and friends.

“Yeah definitely, it’s the most football that I watch, I follow a few teams because I’d know lads playing for them. So naturally Sligo Rovers and UCD and Drogheda, as James Keaney is there and Johnny Kenny at Shamrock Rovers. I have a season pass for LOITV so I’d be switching between games.”