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Shaun Byrne thankful for Neill Collins’ off-field support as Raith Rovers midfielder opens up on manager’s football demands

The ex-Dundee player's partner, Katy, gave birth to baby Ozley last month.

Raith Rovers FC midfielder Shaun Byrne.
Raith Rovers midfielder Shaun Byrne. Image: Paul Devlin / SNS.

Shaun Byrne has revealed his gratitude for the support he has received from manager Neill Collins since becoming a dad again.

The Raith Rovers midfielder and wife Katy welcomed baby Ozley into the world last month, a brother for 21-month-old Colby.

With two children under the age of two, as well as being foster carers to teenager Lisa-Marie, Byrne and his partner have their hands full at home.

That is why the former Dundee and Livingston player appreciates the offer of help at work.

“The gaffer spoke to me after Ozley was born,” Byrne told Courier Sport.

“When you have a kid, you have to deal with a lot of stuff that you haven’t had to deal with in the last while.

“He said, ‘I know you’ve had a lot going on and you might not want to think that because you want to keep playing football’.

“But you’ve had your baby and probably getting up during the night takes it out of you as well.

“He’s been quality since I’ve had the baby. He told me to take as much time off as I needed, although I only really missed one day because I just wanted to come back in.

Byrne: ‘That support is there’

“But he’s really big on family stuff. If you want to go and speak to him about anything, he’s been really good.

“That support is there, with anything really.

We foster as well, and he’s said, ‘if you ever need a wee bit of leeway here and there, it’s always there for you’. That’s been good.

“I’ve had quite a good relationship with him so far.”

Byrne was left out of the line-up for the recent Friday night encounter with Ayr United. It was the only time he has not started since Collins’ appointment in September.

Shaun Byrne with his first son, Colby, after Raith Rovers' play-off win over Partick Thistle last season.
Shaun Byrne with his first son, Colby, after Raith Rovers’ play-off win over Partick Thistle last season. Image: Craig Foy / SNS Group.

However, it was more about managing three games in a week than a reflection on the way the 31-year-old has been performing.

With Morton next up at home on Saturday after last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle, Byrne insists he is relishing life under the new regime.

“The gaffer has been a bit different to what we’ve been used to with the old manager,” said Byrne, who made last season’s loan a permanent move in the summer. “He’ll probably work in different ways.

“But I’ve loved it ever since he’s come in. He’s really intense, he’s on you constantly, but I think he just wants the best for everyone.

‘The most intense gaffer I’ve had’

“He’s probably the most intense gaffer I’ve had, just with the demands he puts on the players.

“You can see the way we’re working. I’d say we’re pressing a lot better, we’re winning the ball higher up the park, we’re creating more chances.

“I feel like we are playing really well – we’ve just not had the rewards in the games.

“But I’m a firm believer that you keep going, keep working hard and things will turn around.”

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