Derry City’s forgotten football export happy at Root’s Hall

James McClean, Danny Lafferty, Paddy McCourt, Niall McGinn and Ronan Curtis all have enjoyed their share of the limelight but somewhat of a forgotten man is former Candy Stripes’ winger, Stephen McLaughlin, who is seven years plying his trade in England.

Since joining Nottingham Forest in 2013, McLaughlin has steadily ground out a steady career across the pond and is currently enjoying life at Southend United.

Things haven’t always been easy for the 29-year-old. In fact his cross Channel career was almost over before it began after his City Ground move some seven years needed two trials before being completed.

“Derry’s season ends around November, so I went on a week’s trial to Forest under Sean O’Driscoll and they really liked me,” explains MacLaughlin.

“I went home for Christmas after being told they were going to sign me. They said come-back in January and we’ll get everything sorted so I thought everything was fine but on Christmas Day, in the middle of a birthday party for my wee brother, Niall, I got a text from Graham (Barrett) my agent to tell me Sean O’Driscoll had just been sacked. This after they beat Leeds United at home 4-2 and were sitting in the top six!

“I was thinking ‘Oh My God’ and I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“Alex McLeish came in and Forest asked me to come back for another trial. I did it and thankfully three or four days into the trial they were happy to sign me. Unfortunately McLeish lasted 40 days and then he got sacked.

“A caretaker manager was put in charge before Billy Davies came in and he was quite the character. Everybody loved him and I got on alright with him but since being sacked by Forest, O’Driscoll had taken over at Bristol City and came straight in to take me on-loan. I played there a while and enjoyed it before Steve Cotterill took over and within a week I tore my medial ligament meaning it was back to Forest under another manager.”

Quite a baptism in English football for the young Inishowen man and a million miles from the Premier League dream life sold to young footballers the world over.

Regular managerial changes are a job hazard and a trend that has followed the ex-Finn Harps man throughout his career in the Football League but for all the tough experiences, McLaughlin remains philosophical.

“Things really didn’t work out at Forest, I had something like six or seven managers during my two years at the club,” he explains.

“For a fella that is coming from the League of Ireland, you have to try and get the trust of the manager because he’s looking to get off to a good start. That takes a couple of weeks to earn the trust of the manager and then you hopefully earn a spot in the squad but if the next thing is he’s sacked, then you have to start from scratch again.

“It was a tough couple of years for me at Forest. I went on loan a few times, including Bristol City at the start, and a new manager actually came in there too just before I did my medial ligament so it was a sticky start for me.

“But I had good loan spells at a few clubs, starting at Notts County, I really enjoyed that. When I came back in to Forest and actually started playing under Stuart Pearce it was going well before he got the sack as well. That’s just how things were at Forest at the time but I wouldn’t change a thing because all those things made me mentally strong.

“I eventually went on-loan to Southend, where I am now, and we ended up getting promoted to League One.

“I could have gone to a few Championship clubs but going to Southend was a challenge because they were actually going for promotion while the other teams were just playing out the season. I felt going to Southend and trying to play my part in promotion was a better move for me. Thankfully I did do that because it has proved a great decision.”

For all the early upheaval in his career, McLaughlin has enjoyed plenty of highs such as playing at Wembley in the successful Southend United side which secured promotion to League

One following a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Wycombe Wanderers. Indeed Southend and McLaughlin just missed out on a chance of taking the club to the Championship.

“That promotion we got with Southend in the 2014-15 season was via the play-offs and winning at Wembley was unreal,” insists McLaughlin who is happily settled with his wife, Shauna and daughter, Caleigh McLaughlin.

“Over the couple of seasons after that we just missed out on a play-off spot for the Championship on the last day, Millwall pipped us. It came down to the last day. We needed to win and they needed a draw. We won our game and I even scored the winner and was thinking that was us in the play-offs but Millwall, who kicked off later scored three goals in the last 20 minutes away to Bristol Rovers so we lost out by a point. It was disappointing, yes, but stuff like that I’ll never forget and even last season staying up with how difficult it is to stay in the league, it’s crazy.

“This season we haven’t been good but we just have to get on with it and try our best when we get back to playing football.”

During those tough times, the Donegal native concedes that Shauna, his family and friends, and even an old Derry City team-mate in Barry Molloy have all helped him. In fact he reveals had it not been for their support, then things may have turned out very differently.

“It has been a rough road for me and I wouldn’t be here playing if it wasn’t for my family and my missus (Shauna),” he confirms, “They were all I needed. They were my rock. Had I been over here on my own with all these things happening, and coming home to an empty house every day, I don’t think I would have lasted. My family and Shauna are the main reasons why I’ve stuck it out and made the career I have now.

“When I went to Forest, Barry often came over to see his kids in Derby and every time he came over we would just meet up and that was brilliant,” he added, “Having someone from home meeting you in England was great, it was vital. Meeting old team-mates or friends, whether in person, texting or face timing, goes unnoticed but I couldn’t thank all those people enough.

“At the time I was just a young lad from Donegal and it was a big change for me.

“It’s great being a footballer but maintaining those standards day in day out is quite difficult. People see players signing for clubs in England and think that means you have ‘made it’ but to be honest nothing starts until you are actually here and you have to establish yourself.

“You are just a nobody when you come over at first and if you aren’t doing it then you are put to the back of the queue. Sometimes they’ll even bring somebody else in, so it’s difficult to be at the top all the time. Thankfully for me now I’m a regular starter every week and I’m proud of that.

“We aren’t doing well at all this season but I’m still proud to be starting every week. I have been injury free so hopefully that continues and I’ll be looking to get as many games as I can whenever things get started again.”

Since signing permanently with Southend, life has changed off the pitch with the arrival of his baby daughter, Caleigh, who celebrated her first birthday earlier this month.

“Life has changed massively off the field, especially in the last year since Caleigh was born but it’s brilliant,” he smiles, “She’s class and just a year past at the start of March. Things like that put football into perspective.

“As much as it’s football, football, football which is in my head, if something happens at training or a match now I don’t bring it up. I come home and my little girl just makes everything great.”

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