An interview with Ben Wilson, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
You joined Airdrieonians this summer. How are you settling in at the club so far?
“It has been good so far. Everyone has helped me to settle in and, thankfully, I have had a good start, so I am just looking to build on that now for the rest of the season.”
Your new manager Rhys McCabe won the SPFL Trust trophy last season and earned a lot of plaudits within Scottish football. How much are you looking forward to working under him?
“Having Rhys as the manager here was a massive factor in me coming in.
“As soon as I spoke to him, we had a really good conversation about what he wants from the team and from me as an individual.
“He wants to play attacking, passing football and he believes that I will fit into that system. That was all I needed to hear, and I hope to repay his faith in me.”
In terms of your new teammates, who would you say are the big characters in the dressing room?
“All of them have been great to be honest.
“Our group is similar in age, so we are all on the same path as players.”
It was a historic season for you and your teammates at Cliftonville last season as you won the Irish Cup for the first time since 1979. What was it like to be a part of that moment?
“It was a fantastic season for the club and for myself. Before I signed for Cliftonville, the first conversation I had with Jim Magilton was about how much he wanted to win the Irish Cup and that he was aiming to do it from his arrival at the club.
“He told me that if you can be part of the team who delivers the Irish Cup for the Cliftonville fans then you will go down in history and we have done that.
“It was an unbelievable season for the club by winning the Irish Cup but also by qualifying for European football by finishing 3rd in the league too.”
Like yourself, Ronan Hale has made the move to Scottish football this summer with Ross County. What was he like to play alongside at Solitude?
“I’ve played with some brilliant players and Ronan is one of them. He got a great move to Ross County which is well deserved.
“His brother Rory was also at Cliftonville, and he was a driving force in the midfield, and he was influential for us last year too.
“That being said, it was the whole team that was crucial to our success as you cannot do it with just three players, everybody was excellent.
“I could name everybody especially from that Irish Cup final because there was just a belief that we would win the game, and it was never going to go any other way.”
What are your memories of the final itself?
“It was an unbelievable day; I am getting goosebumps just chatting about it now.
“I did not start the game, and I was disappointed in that because of the magnitude of the game.
“However, Jim Magilton and Gerard Lyttle had their game plan, and I came on quite just as the game was heading into extra time.
“I remember the buzz of the stadium when I came onto the field and the noise of our fans was incredible.
“We scored an early goal in extra time to settle us down a wee bit, then Linfield were pushing and pushing to try and get an equaliser.
“Late on in the game, I remember getting clattered by the goalkeeper and then, the next thing I know is I am looking up and Ronan is running towards an empty goal with his arms up and everyone in the crowd was cheering as he rolled the ball into the net to seal the victory. It was magnificent”
As a youth player, you spent time at Brighton and Hove Albion. How much did you learn from your time there?
“I learned so much from my time throughout the age groups. I joined Brighton when I was 16 and stayed there for five years.
“I had an unfortunate time with injuries and the timings of those injuries, but I learned so much about myself on and off the pitch during those years.”
“I will be forever grateful for being at the club because I met some friends for life and many great people down there.”
You have represented Northern Ireland at under-17 and under-19 level. Is your long-term aspiration to try and break into the senior national setup in the years to come?
“Absolutely, anybody’s dream is to play for your country, and I am no different.
“I know that I have a long way to go to earn that sort of call-up, so I am solely focused on club football at the moment.
“Hopefully, I can let my performances here in Scotland do the talking and you never know what might happen in the future.”
Finally, Ben, you were the top scorer in the League Cup group phase. What are you hoping to achieve in the Championship this season?
“I am looking forward to it and it was great to start the season with a win over a strong Raith Rovers side.
“The League Cup was great because I had a taste of what playing in competitive games and scoring goals was a great confidence booster.
“The Championship is a really competitive league; we have a good squad of players, and I hope to score as many goals as I can in the games ahead.”