Vinny Perth: 'I said to myself - 'stop trying to prove your doubters wrong'

“It was a big turning point for me. I said to myself, ‘stop trying to prove your doubters wrong’.”

Vinny Perth’s Dundalk had just been crowned League of Ireland champions when he decided on a change of outlook. But his fresh approach did not emanate from victory. It came from something far more personal.

“I’ve two kids. My daughter is 16 and my son, Killian, is 11. Killian is autistic.”

“When we lifted the league trophy a couple of weeks back, it was the first time he ever showed any semblance of interest in football. He really enjoyed the game and clapped every goal.”

“Then he came onto the pitch with me. He’s never done anything like that before in anyway shape or form. It was massive for him to be able to do that.”

“To be honest with you, because of how busy my life has been, my wife has been more hands on with him than me. What going full time has done, is allowed me and him to have a relationship again.”

“And I think there’s a direct correlation with him wanting to see me do well the other night and him getting to see more of me.”

“Only a year ago he had absolutely no interest in walking out onto the Aviva pitch with me. But this time around it was different. He loved it. That’s been huge for me, a massive plus.”

Moments such as the one described by Perth can change a person’s perspective on what they should be prioritising in their lives.

“When your son and your family are on the pitch with you like they were, it makes you realise what’s important.”

“The amount of texts I got from my own family after we lifted the trophy that night. But they were all about was Cillian being on tele, not us winning the league!”

“They were shocked to see him applauding and couldn’t believe it when he came out with me. “

“For my mam and dad and Claire’s mam and dad, that was the special moment. In some ways that was better than any medal you’ll ever get, better than any trophy you’ll ever lift.”

“Trying to achieve success for me now is more about trying to reward my family and the people who have believed in me. It’s not about trying to prove people wrong anymore.”

Having a bit more time at home is not to suggest that Perth is slacking. A quick tally up of a recent working week reveals he punched in close to 60 hours.

Yet, because he is no longer juggling his football commitments with employment outside of football, life is not as frantic as it once was.

“At times things were crazy. In the lead up to playing Zenit St. Pettersburg in 2016, there was one night where I fell asleep at the kitchen table.”

“I was under that much pressure to get my own work done and have a presentation ready to give to our players on Zenit the next day that I’d tried to work straight through the night. There was a lot of the sort of stuff.”

“After the big win against BATE Borisov, I was in Centra on Dame Street the following morning at 6.30. The company I worked for were involved in rebuilding the deli in there.

“The electrician who was on the ladder said, ’I know you face from somewhere’.

“I just passed it off but later on that morning he comes out of the toilets with a newspaper in his hands and says ‘I knew I knew your face from somewhere’. He’s holding up the back page of the paper. It had a big picture of me and Stephen hugging on it. We had a good laugh about it.”

“Football still takes up a huge chunk of my life. I am obsessed by football and I think if you want to be successful you have to be. But there’s no doubt I have a better balance now.”

 This afternoon, Dundalk go head to head in the FAI Cup Final with Shamrock Rovers, their closest challengers in this year’s league title race. Having grown up less than two miles from Tallaght Stadium, Perth admits to having an admiration for what the club is trying to achieve.

“What we’ve done in the last 7 years is we’ve had to build from the top down. What Rovers have done brilliantly is build from the bottom up.”

“So they’re coming after us in a very organised and structured way. Their academy is bringing through players. Their ground is up to the highest level now.”

“There are pro’s and con’s for both approaches. Would you change what Dundalk have done over the last 7 years for what Rovers have done? Some supporters would probably actually like the Rovers model because they have a better club in terms of the infrastructure.”

“What it means is that we have to try and catch them in one sense and they have to try and catch us in another. It does show you that there are two ways of going about trying to have success in Irish football.”

Arguably the biggest result in Dundalk’s league season came in late June when they defeated today’s opponents in a hotly contested affair in Tallaght. In the aftermath of the game, Perth’s satisfaction at the result was clear for all to see as he celebrated with the away support.

 “It was a big result for us and a big moment in our season. We were brilliant that night but we won it in a way that made me feel very confident we could kick on.”

“I think it was probably the first night that me and the supporters had a real connection. I think they appreciated my reaction and I appreciated their reaction. It was one of my best moments in football and it meant a lot to me. It brought everybody involved in the club that bit closer.”

But there was more to it than just picking up three points.

“There was a huge amount of personal criticism aimed at me that night from the back of the stands and that added to my reaction.”

“Very detailed and personnel stuff about where I used to work, where my father works, where I live, all that kind of stuff. I felt that crossed the line.”

“It was disappointing because I grew up in the area and in truth I actually love what Rovers has done for Tallaght. There’s a great buzz around the place on match nights and I think its brilliant for the place. But like any club, there’s always head cases and some of it crossed the line that night.”

Despite being the verge of an historic treble, Perth has taken preparations for the game in his stride.

“I’ve been very relaxed this week. The whole cup final thing isn’t a stress in any way shape or form.”

“I’ve done cup final week 4 or 5 times so therefore I know what works and what doesn’t work and maybe can be an advantage to us.”

“If we hadn’t won a trophy then yeah I’d probably be feeling the pressure a bit more. But right now I’m just really looking forward to it.”

Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers, Aviva Stadium, 3.40