Loyal servant Pierce Sweeney doesn't want to ever leave Exeter City
THE days of one club men and players having any kind of longevity at a single football club is certainly rare in the modern game. But for Pierce Sweeney, who has spent the last eight years at Exeter City, making 375 appearances and counting, there is nowhere else he would rather be.
Signed by Paul Tisdale after impressing in a pre-season trial, following his release from Reading in the summer of 2016, Sweeney – who turned 30 last week - has not just gone on to become a mainstay of the Grecians team, but become a true fans favourite and leader of the dressing room as well.
Sweeney’s time in Devon looked like coming to an end in the summer of 2021 when he turned down the offer of a new contract and signed for Swindon Town. But within 24 hours, that contract was torn up and the Irishman returned to the place he now calls home.
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“I have played an awful lot of games; I have played in three play-off finals, (won) promotion and I have had two kids,” the popular Dubliner says, when reflecting on his time with Exeter. “The football club has changed dramatically, especially over the last three or four years with the training ground, the playing squad and the coaching staff.
“I think we have 16 or 17 first team staff now and when I first signed, we probably had five or six, so that has changed and the stadium itself; I remember the old stand and the old changing rooms – it wasn’t very appealing to come into – and with the Stansfield Stand on the far side, it looks and feels an awful lot better.
“For me personally, as I say, I have two young kids and I have been living here for nearly nine years now. I am loving every minute of it and I don’t think I will ever move.
“If it ever happens that we decide to part ways, player and football club, then I think the family will probably stay here and I will go where I have to go. Coaching is something that I am interested in and I would like to do, so please God I am here until I retire and I hopefully have some sort of (coaching) badges and experience under my belt where I can help younger players at the football club or, if it’s in a first team environment, then even better.”
Much gets made of the Grecians Academy and it being an ideal place for ambitious youngsters to go and learn their trade, which is true. But while that is the jewel in City’s crown, the first team environment is also one where people thrive – and Sweeney plays a large part in that in his role as club captain.
“I love how unique the football club is, he says. “Obviously I have been here for an awful long time and whenever we get a new player, they always ask me why is the club the way it is with finances and how the club is run.
“It is hard to explain why it is like that, but when you have been where this club has been, at rock bottom, then you take extra caution with money and how to approach things.
“Listen, the proof is in the pudding. We are probably over-achieving every season we are in League One, but whatever we are doing, we are doing right and I am a voice in the changing room that can keep telling players that.
“But the way the club is, the way it is run and the outside vision and way that people look at the football club is getting a lot better.
“I actually listened to an interview with (former boss) Paul Tisdale and he said that, when he got the job, they said to him that they want the football club to be like Crewe Alexandra and I think we have surpassed that football club in 15-20 years. I really like the football club and the way the club is – and the people are OK as well!”
Every club needs a Pierce Sweeney, though. The greatest commodity a player can have is availability and the fact he is closing in on 400 appearances in eight years is testament to his availability, application and dedication to his profession, while his role as captain endears him to team-mates and fans alike. In fact, he is more mentor to many of his team-mates, old and new, with former loanee and Academy graduate Jay Stansfield calling Sweeney for advice on his £10 million summer move from Fulham to Birmingham City – a record transfer for League One.
“It’s not the first time a player has called me and I am still waiting for a cheque off Josh Key!” Sweeney says with his typical dry wit. “Stanno will have one in the post as well!
“I am just myself. If any player I play with sees me in that light, then brilliant because I am never going to sugar coat a situation. I didn’t do that with Stanno, he has obviously signed a lucrative contract there for seven years, so I am not surprised that he’s decided to go on that bandwagon with Birmingham. They are obviously a fantastic football club in their own right, but what they are doing there is brilliant and they are getting good backing.
“The same with Josh Key and previous players. I remember Ollie Watkins asked me when I was 22 or 23 what he thought about me going to Brentford and I said to him I would drive him there myself! He was debating whether to go or not, but listen, if players see me in that light then brilliant. I am obviously doing something right and I must talk a good game!”