I just fell out of love with the beautiful game

Teen star Shaun Byrne on taking different route after end of his West Ham dream

- Derek FOLEY

SHAUN Byrne was a young man who appeared to have the world at his feet.

He had captained the Ireland U16s to their 1998 European Championships victory in Scotland, which meant the 20th century had gone well for him

The 21st century started promisingly too as on January 3, 2000, he made his West Ham debut at Newcastle, Harry Redknapp springing him from the bench in a tense 2-2 Premier League draw.

But the highly successful Redknapp who had managed to get the Hammers to fifth-place in 1999 was at war with the board, trying to secure transfer funds so the club could push on.

He would leave that May.

A change of manager is the reason most cited by young Irish footballers for failing to get a breakthrough at their first club.

And Byrne encountered a similar bind at The Hammers, with Glenn Roeder at the helm, were relegated. Byrne was used just once that season, as a sub at Everton, where they lost 0-5.

There was just one more appearance before his 2004 exit, again as a sub and with Roeder as manager, this time against Rushden & Diamonds at Upton Park in a 3-1 EFL Cup win.

By that stage, though, Byrne, nine years at West Ham and in a remarkably candid admission, says: "The main thing was I just fell out of love with football.

"I think because I was at West Ham until I was 22 or 23, I needed to be gone by that time.

"I was at a club too long. I went on loan a couple of times though I was involved in first team squad, I was never going to play or nothing, I was just there as backup.

"I stayed there too long and I think it sort of... I was not down about it, just, at that time I just fell out with football."