Matthew’s aiming for more success back on home soil

With the start of the Sports Direct Premiership a matter of days away, Matthew Clarke is relishing the opportunity to rekindle his relationship with the Irish League after a year spent in the Scottish Championship.

The 31-year-old moved across the Irish Sea to sign for Livingston after a hugely successful eleven year spell with Linfield and while he enjoyed further success in Scotland – helping his new club achieve promotion back to the Scottish Premier League and winning the Scottish Challenge Cup – the draw of home was just too strong for the Castlederg man, who got married to his now wife, Ashley, during the summer.

And he admits, returning to Tyrone in order to play for Ballymena United, with whom he signed after departing Almondvale Stadium, has lifted a weight off his shoulders.

“It’s nice to be home. It was a long enough year and I probably struggled being away,” he admitted.

“I think it’s down to the stage of life I’m at. We were getting married, we have a house in the Derg and that and I just think that at this stage of life, it was much tougher when I was over by myself. Ashley had stayed here and I think that made things tough.”

Even with the knowledge that the main part of his life was in Northern Ireland, Clarke felt the chance to give professional football across the water another try – he had been a trainee at Glasgow Rangers – was an opportunity he couldn’t pass at this stage in his career.

“The opportunity came about and I just thought I probably had to try because if I looked back in four or five years I’d probably regret not trying it,” he explained.

“So, it’s probably just down to that. I had an itch to scratch and it was something that if I hadn’t done I’d be thinking ‘what if?’ or ‘I should have given that a go’ because I’d done 11 years at Linfield and won everything multiple times, so it was definitely an experience and an opportunity I had to go and try.”

And while the move didn’t work out due to his personal situation and an ill-timed injury, Clarke certainly doesn’t regret his time at Livingston.

“I definitely don’t regret making the move at all,” he added. “I think, in total, I played 22 league games and six or seven in the cup, so I played a lot of football. I got injured in the middle or end of January and missed four weeks and didn’t really get back in the team after that. But up until January I played every game, so I don’t regret it because we won a cup and got promoted.”

After eleven years at Linfield, a change with Livi was as good as a rest for Clarke, who admits that the weight of expectation at Windsor Park can become a burden to some who wear the prestigious blue shirt.

“The demands at Linfield, every season you have to win something and if you don’t, second place and not winning trophies is not good enough,” he observed.

“That pressure weighs on the players, it definitely does. You feel that pressure and if you drop points or you don’t win things certain seasons you certainly feel the pressure and you’re told quite quickly that it’s not good enough.

“And I think that places like Linfield are made for certain people. I’ve seen people come through the door and not last due to the pressures and the demands to win trophies.

“But definitely, I think some would be telling you lies if they said they didn’t feel the pressure some of the time.”

While some wilted under that pressure, Clarke flourished, relishing the constant demand for success and achievement as he helped the Belfast club to five league titles, two Irish Cups, three League Cups and two County Antrim Shields, including a memorable treble in 2016-17, between the 2013-14 season when he signed from Rangers to 2023-24 when he returned to Scotland. “I think knowing that those were the pressures and demands on you was massive, you had to go and win things and I enjoyed playing under that,” he acknowledged.

“It’s not for everyone, definitely not, but as a player you have to be hungry and have that desire to win trophies and you know that comes along with playing for clubs like Linfield, a lot of pressure and a lot of flack sometimes.

“I knew coming to Linfield there was a good opportunity and a good chance to win trophies, but I didn’t see us winning as much, so I’m very happy with the medal haul I collected at the Blues.

“That season we won the league, Irish Cup and the County Antrim [Shield], that was special.

“In the January we were 15 points behind Crusaders [in the league], so that definitely sticks out, the way that went. We were so far behind and we managed to reel them in and win it on the last day of the season away at Solitude.

“Then, the following week was the Irish Cup [final] and we managed to beat Coleraine 3-0, so probably that season was one of the best, especially with the group of lads we had in the changing room. It was unbelievable.”

The winning mentality that helped Clarke achieve so much at Linfield was something he has had throughout his career and it was part of what led Rangers to bring him to Glasgow as a teeenager, an experience he thoroughly enjoyed.

“I was 16 when I went to Rangers and it was a bit of a culture shock, moving away at that young age,” he said.

“It was something I loved, joining the club I supported, and seeing how professional it was and how an elite football club operated was unbelievable.

“It was a great experience, living in Glasgow and getting to play for Rangers was unbelievable but then everything that happened with administration, it was a bit of a mess at the end.

“But overall, it was an unbelievable experience.

“And as a young lad it definitely grows you up a bit quicker than anything else, there’s no doubt about that.”

During his years at Ibrox, Clarke came close to becoming a fixture in the Rangers first team ahead of their third division campaign following their demotion due to the club going into liquidation. With a host of big names jumping ship, Matthew felt he had a good chance of establishing himself as a member of Ally McCoist’s squad until something of a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment proved decisive in how his career has since played out.

“I actually got injured in my last year, which hampered me. I missed probably about four months of that season and Lee Wallace had stayed – of all people to stay, the captain of the club, who played in my position – which didn’t do me any favours,” he said with a laugh.

“Lee Wallace was great with me, though. I’d have trained with the first team a lot of times and I was in the first team squad for the first League Cup game but then I got injured and didn’t really get a look in after that.

“I got close. I played all the pre-season friendlies with the first team that year and then it came to the start of the season and I think I was to be involved but I got injured.

“Those are the slim margins involved. I think making it in professional football is about 80 per cent luck!”

While things didn’t work out how he would have dreamed at Rangers, his time at Linfield certainly exceeded any hopes he had in terms of success and he’s now keen to bring all of that experience to the Ballymena Showgrounds where he hopes to excel under his former team-mate, Jim Ervin.

“Speaking to Jim he told me his plans for the club, what he is trying to establish and build here,” Matthew said.

“I have known Jim a long time, I spent a year with him at Linfield when I first came over from Rangers. I know the type of guy he is, I know the type of performances he wants and the way his team wants to play. Jim sold it to me very well.

“But now I’m looking forward to the season ahead. I just can’t wait for the league to start. You get to this stage of pre-season and you’re a couple of friendlies in and you just want your bread and butter back.

“I’m looking forward to it, it’s a new challenge, a new experience, and hopefully we can push on and climb the table this season.

“I think a club this size and with the squad that we have, we should be aiming for a top six finish and it would be nice to put together a cup run.

“Definitely, that’s what we’ll be hoping for.”