Kasey McAteer is only 23, but he’s already made 23 appearances for Ireland. Born in England, McAteer’s maternal grandmother was from Offaly, Ireland, and his maternal grandfather was from Belfast, Northern Ireland. So, it’s easy to see why the strong pull to represent Ireland came naturally for him.
This weekend, McAteer made his first Premier League start against Chelsea and was one of Leicester’s top performers. The Foxes battled well but eventually lost 2-1 to the London club.
He stopped in the mixed zone to speak to Telecom Asia Sport at the King Power Stadium about what making his Premier League debut means to him:
I’m over the moon that I made my first Premier League start. It's a shame that we lost, but we’ll learn from it. I know I’ve played for my country before making my Premier League debut, but that’s the story of my life. For most people, it’s the other way around. But now, what I want to do is kick on from here, get more minutes under my belt, and help the team as much as I can.
Ironically, McAteer’s breakthrough in the Leicester first team came last season under Enzo Maresca. It was the Italian manager who first trusted him with his debut in the Championship and made him a key member of the Leicester squad that gained promotion back to the Premier League straight away.
As fate would have it, McAteer made his Premier League debut against Maresca, now the manager of Chelsea—something he absolutely loves. He added:
I haven’t had a chance to say hello to him today, but I just saw him walk past me. I owe him a lot. He was the first one to really put me in from the start, last season against Coventry at home. That’s something you never forget—there are a lot of talented players in and around the team, so for someone to have the trust to put you in, that’s a real breakthrough. I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and as a person. It’s nice to see him doing well at Chelsea.
Maresca has been sensational at Chelsea, teaching a group of young players, similar to McAteer, new ways of seeing the game and challenging them to improve. Unlike previous managers, he’s wasted little time in getting Chelsea firing, with many saying he’ll have them challenging for the title soon.
When asked what makes Maresca special and why young players play for him, McAteer explained:
When he was here, he had a completely different way of looking at the game. We had to learn quickly, and we trained really well and smartly. You can see the way Chelsea are playing now—it's hard to predict what they’re going to do. Sometimes, we knew what they were going to do, but they surprised us with new ideas. It’s clear that the gaffer is putting new concepts into them.
Another example is that they were playing with one holding midfielder and three attacking midfielders, and we did that a lot last season. It causes a lot of problems for the opposition. It opens spaces and creates battles in midfield that are tough for teams to handle.
Leicester have had a tough start to their Premier League return, with just two wins from their first 12 games. However, the next round of fixtures looks winnable, and the pressure is growing on the manager to turn things around.
McAteer is already quite popular with the Leicester fanbase and told Telecom Asia that he now wants to repay their faith and trust in him by continuing to train well and be ready for what’s ahead:
I think it’s the same for every player—you only get better by playing week in and week out. My aim is to build on what I’ve done today and earn the manager’s trust. First, I’ll just keep training hard, eating well, and making sure my body and mind are ready when more opportunities come. Games are coming thick and fast now, and we have to take each one as it comes. We believe every game presents an opportunity, and this is where it truly matters. First, we have to believe in ourselves, regroup, and come back together.
