Ronan Hale deserved big move after 'working his nuts off' says proud brother
Rory Hale says younger brother Ronan deserved his big move across the water after "working his nuts off" in the Irish League.
Ronan joined Ross County in the summer after starring for Cliftonville over the past two seasons.
The 26-year-old was previously with Birmingham City but returned home in 2019 to reignite his career with Crusaders. He went on to have spells with St Pat's in the League of Ireland and full-time Larne before moving to Solitude in the summer of 2022.
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During his time with Cliftonville he scored 50 goals across all competitions, including a heroic breakaway strike to help the Reds lift the Irish Cup last season.
Since joining Ross County in the Scottish Premiership he has bagged five goals in nine games, an impressive return that older brother Rory says should come as no surprise.
He said: "Ronan is doing alright. He has settled in nicely, and he is now just waiting on the family moving over next month. He is a bit lonely at the minute, but it is probably doing him as world of good as he can just focus on the football.
"He has started like a house on fire. It shows the Irish League is a good platform for players to kick on. He has worked his nuts off the last four or five years to get back and have a crack at professional football, and he deserves everything coming his way."
Ronan is currently working towards switching from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, with Michael O'Neill keen to bring the 26-year-old into his future squads.
Rory says international football isn't high on his bother's agenda right now, but believes he can deliver goals for Northern Ireland if he gets the chance.
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"Ronan just needs to keep scoring goals. I don't think it's the first thing on his mind, but if the opportunity arises and he's still scoring goals, then I think it would be too good to turn down," Rory said.
"A couple of years ago Ronan took a big chance to leave full-time Larne and go to Cliftonville, and eight or nine times out of 10 that maybe doesn't work for players.
"But when you work hard and believe in yourself, and produce on the pitch, then anything can happen. He scored something like 50 goals across two seasons, and with a few injuries along the way.
"It shows what you can do when you knuckle down and believe in yourself."
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