DANNY MANDROIU was at a crossroads last August and chose to head back to Ireland – but not in the way his former boss Mark Kennedy envisaged.
Mandroiu, 26, is back with league leaders Shamrock Rovers aiming for a big second half of the season both at home and abroad at a club where he feels he can realise his ambitions.
But he knows there are people out there who would take a different view of his career choices, including his former Lincoln City gaffer Kennedy.
Mandroiu joined Lincoln in 2022 where he was a star man during his two years where he featured regularly under fellow Dubliner Kennedy.
But a red card in October 2023 against Burton Albion led Kennedy to publicly rebuke him and warn him that his career was at a crossroads.
Kennedy did praise Mandroiu’s professionalism and character, but it was overshadowed but his declaration that the midfielder could be just “another statistic.”
And he said: “I don’t know where he’ll be in five years, he could be in the Championship, he could be back in Ireland.”
The comments did not go down well at Lincoln, who sacked Kennedy five days later with CEO Derek Scally acknowledging the Mandroiu comments were a contributing factor.
And Mandroiu insisted the whole situation was “bizarre” for him.
He said: He said: He said: “He’s entitled to his own opinion, whatever he said. It’s not me.
“It was quite strange when it came out. It was really strange. I was in Ireland at the time actually. I read it on the Monday and I was ‘Jesus’.
“He started coming with ‘he could be in the Premier League or nowhere’ something like that yeah. It was bizarre.
“That could tarnish you with some teams which it obviously did. They’d obviously go to Mark Kennedy for a reference or whatever and I don’t know what he’s given.
“Lincoln know I’m a good lad so if they go to them…it was a bit strange and bizarre.”
Still, he points out that being “back in Ireland” is far from the negative it was portrayed by Kennedy, as Mandroiu opted to return home over other offers from elsewhere.
He continued: “ I’ve been in England since I was 15 so it’s not something that I wanted to do. If I’m not happy, I wouldn’t do it. I’ll not settle for something.
I had options everywhere every time. I’ve never been released, I’ve had contracts on the table. It was just my own decision.
“The teams I wanted to come in didn’t come in, and I wasn’t going to settle for anything less. I love Rovers, I love the gaffer, the team, we were in Europe at the time as well.
“I signed for five months and we’re in Europe and you do well and who knows what could happen. But then a new contract, I just signed that.”
This season started frustratingly as suffered a hamstring injury in the Aviva Stadium opener against Bohemians before another setback on his return in April.
But that led him to working with former Rovers, Dundalk, Chelsea and Leinster physio Fearghal Kerin who is an expert in hamstring injuries.
INJURY WOES
Mandroiu said: “I did my hamstring three times in the last six months, it’s very frustrating.
It was the same hammer the three times.
“II went to a lad called Fearghal (Kerin), he used to be with Chelsea. He’s very good. I just stopped seeing him maybe three weeks ago.
“I did my prehab with him for maybe five weeks, he’s really good.”
And having returned to action since the summer break, Mandriou now hopes to kick on for the league leaders as they target the title and European success.
He added: “I believe in the group, you see the squad we have, it’s outrageous. So I think we can do whatever we put our minds to really.
“We’re playing some unbelievable stuff. Long may it continue in the league and in Europe.”
