{"id":271971,"date":"2026-01-30T13:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/271971\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T13:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:41:08","slug":"alan-brownes-middlesbrough-heroics-put-him-in-the-shop-window-for-an-ireland-recall-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/271971\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan Browne\u2019s Middlesbrough heroics put him in the shop window for an Ireland recall \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone wondering about the impact Alan Browne is having on Middlesbrough, their Premier League<\/a> promotion challenge and evolution into a fast, attractive team, just had to look at the club\u2019s social media channels last week. After a 2-1 win away at Championship rivals Stoke City, a game in which Browne scored Boro\u2019s opener, the club\u2019s official handle changed to, \u201cAlan Browne is very good at football\u201d.<\/p>\n

It represents a different kind of recognition for the 30-year-old from Cork<\/a>. Informal perhaps, lighthearted, but it is appreciation nonetheless. It tells us something about how Middlesbrough as a club and fan base have come to see the midfielder\/right back\/wing back. The ability to adapt to those positional changes in a fluid, attacking system is why Browne\u2019s nous is being applauded.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, no one had mentioned it to Browne and the tag has been replaced in a fast-moving social media world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t see that,\u201d he says, smiling at a question collapsing. \u201cBut it\u2019s funny, it\u2019s a nice touch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He will take it, just as he took the warm applause of the Preston North End fans last Saturday, even though he had scored again, and against the club he represented for a decade, where he was captain, Player of the Year twice and Young Player of the Year twice.<\/p>\n

Boro beat Preston 4-0 to stay second in the Championship. They are well placed to go up for the first time since 2016-17. The last four matches have been won with a goals tally of 13 scored and three conceded. Browne has played all but six minutes of them. Impressive new 37-year-old Swedish coach Kim Hellberg called Browne\u2019s versatility \u201cunbelievable\u201d a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n

While clearly not a man to shout such things about himself, Browne does concede: \u201cI think I\u2019m playing well at the minute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really look into people on the outside acknowledging that. As long as the coaching staff and my teammates acknowledge it, that\u2019s all I care about. The fact is in football you can be a hero one week and the scapegoat the next. You can\u2019t get carried away when you\u2019re doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Josh Cullen (right) and Alan Browne close in on Ukraine’s Mykola Shaparenko in a UEFA Nations League game in Lodz, Poland, in 2022. Photograph: Adam Nurkiewicz\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

His form, however, and the cruel injury to Josh Cullen, means Irish eyes must be glancing towards Browne as the World Cup<\/a> playoffs in March inch closer. Browne has 37 caps stretching back to 2017; he won those under Martin O\u2019Neill, Mick McCarthy, Stephen Kenny and Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson<\/a>; his last appearance was in September 2024, the Nations League loss at home to Greece.<\/p>\n

Browne is certainly not as complimentary about his Ireland<\/a> career as others are about his form. He has had no formal indication the FAI are watching his every move at Boro, but reveals Hallgr\u00edmsson called him during November\u2019s squad preparation for the double header against Portugal and Hungary. He had not been at Middlesbrough long (he is on loan from Sunderland), coach Rob Edwards was about to leave for Wolves and Browne was nursing an injury.<\/p>\n

Given he had missed four months of Sunderland\u2019s promotion season with a leg fracture, he is entitled to caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year when I came out of the squad, I didn\u2019t hear too much,\u201d he says of Ireland post-Greece. \u201cObviously I had an injury as well, that played a big part. In the last camp somebody pulled out late and the gaffer did give me a call to come in. But I was carrying a knock, I\u2019d missed a couple of games and I\u2019d not been involved with Ireland for a while, so the club plan was to get through to the international break and make sure things were okay. I told him (Hallgrimsson) the situation, he kind of said it was best to stay here. That was the last time we spoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bit has happened since \u2013 not least Troy Parrott<\/a>\u2019s goal heroics.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thought process this year was to get back playing at a good level for the club, then it\u2019ll all fall into place if you do that,\u201d Browne says. \u201cIt was gutting to see Josh get that injury, I sent him a message straight away. He\u2019s such a good person and he\u2019s been class for Ireland. He\u2019ll be a big miss.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, as you say, it\u2019s an opportunity for someone else. It could be me. If not, I\u2019ll be cheering the team on from home. Whoever\u2019s playing well will get that chance.\u201d Will Smallbone, Jason Knight and Jayson Molumby are others in contention to replace Cullen.<\/p>\n

As Parrott did what he did in Budapest, Browne was cheering from the kitchen with his back to goal. \u201cI watched it at home, I actually left the room to get my kids some food and my wife says, \u2018Troy Parrott\u2019s got a hat-trick!\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"TroyTroy Parrott celebrates his late winning goal against Hungary at Puskas Arena, Budapest, last November. Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018He hasn\u2019t?\u2019. I came back in and, oh my God, I got shivers. As if I\u2019d scored. I was so happy for Troy, he\u2019s such a good kid, lovely. He works so hard, he was with me at Preston for a year, so I saw him on a day-to-day basis. I was just so happy for him and the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parrott\u2019s hat-trick in a 3-2 victory<\/a> has secured a play-off semi-final against Czech Republic. Win that and Ireland will be one victory from a first World Cup since 2002 and a first tournament since Euro 2016. Browne made his international debut one year after the latter tournament in a friendly defeat to Mexico in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the Mexico fans, they were crazy \u2013 that stands out,\u201d he says of the 2017 match, which finished 3-1. \u201cI just remember having an enormous sense of pride. When you\u2019re playing, you don\u2019t really think like that, but looking at it now it\u2019s actually unbelievable \u2013 Mexico in New York, my first trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

His smile fades, though, as he adds: \u201cI think my Irish career has been really disappointing. That might sound harsh, but it\u2019s true. We haven\u2019t qualified for anything and it goes hand-in-hand. No matter how well you\u2019re doing personally, if you\u2019re not getting to tournaments, then you\u2019re not doing enough. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think every player in the squad would think like that. It\u2019s the bigger picture I find disappointing, rather than myself, but you take accountability for yourself first, of course.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was coming through, the older generation \u2013 who\u2019d done it, got to a tournament \u2013 were just finishing, so it was a bit of a transition. It was tough because we weren\u2019t winning often and it wasn\u2019t just down to transition, we didn\u2019t do well enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen Stephen Kenny came in with a whole new approach. It was a massive ask. People had question marks. But I do think he probably did change the culture within the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted us to do everything right, we just didn\u2019t get the results. We definitely competed and went toe-to-toe with some unbelievable countries. He\u2019d done it with the 21s, hadn\u2019t he? They did so well and it was strange \u2013 why can\u2019t you play that way with the seniors?<\/p>\n

\"AlanAlan Browne with former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny ahead of an away match against the Netherlands in 2023. Photograph: Ryan Byrne\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cBut there was a drop in quality. Before you had players from the Premier League. During my time it wasn\u2019t that \u2013 myself included. I\u2019ve played Championship football my whole life. So he was trying to go the extra mile with a lack of quality and new, young players. I\u2019ve sympathy for him, he worked so hard to succeed for his country, he loves his country. But it\u2019s starting to change again, there are players in the Premier League again.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the Czech Republic?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge. Like I said, I haven\u2019t been in a squad that\u2019s qualified and it would be unbelievable for the team, the staff and fans \u2013 I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve given them enough over the last few years. It would give the country a massive lift \u2013 I know those last two results sent it into oblivion.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will think we\u2019ve done the hard part, or the impossible part, but it\u2019ll be even tougher now, because there\u2019s expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, Browne\u2019s Boro colleague Tommy Conway sounds a foghorn through the door. They\u2019ve something going at Boro and it will all make the weeks and months ahead stimulating for Browne. Last May, he experienced Sunderland\u2019s promotion, albeit as a player returning from injury. Then he went to Carlow to participate in a coaching course.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went into it thinking, \u2018I might like it, I might not, but I\u2019ll never know\u2019. I found it difficult and interesting at the same time. I did enjoy it and it\u2019s always on my mind now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Observing Hellberg has only added to Browne\u2019s curiosity. He is hugely impressed by the Swede in just over two months on Teesside. Browne uses the word \u201cdetail\u201d five times in a couple of minutes when discussing Hellberg, his 45-minute training ground meetings and in-game \u201ctweaks\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also says the manager has brought \u201cassurance\u201d. \u201cWhen we go behind, he\u2019s so calm and composed. When you see what he has said coming to fruition, it\u2019s so assuring. He knows what he\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n

\u201cPromotion is going to be difficult, but we\u2019ve a chance. We\u2019re full of confidence, assurance in ourselves. We know what we\u2019ve to do, how to beat the opposition, which is really important. It\u2019s the detail. It\u2019s a really good feeling, I\u2019m really positive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anyone wondering about the impact Alan Browne is having on Middlesbrough, their Premier League promotion challenge and evolution…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4700,61,60,43,1842],"class_list":["post-271971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-heimir-hallgrimsson","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}