Rowe: I've Been Getting Better and Better With Every Season
Tuesday, 31st Jan 2017 06:00

Town new boy Danny Rowe isn’t the first player to take a roundabout route to Portman Road following his transfer from non-league Macclesfield.

And if he can emulate predecessors with a non-league background such as Paul Mariner, who was with Chorley before joining Plymouth and then the Blues, Trevor Putney, who played for Brentwood and Warley, and former Chippenham Town man Tyrone Mings no one will have any complaints.

Winger Rowe, 24, is currently aiming for the top — but he recalled a time when he thought he was finished with football, seeking a career outside the game when he went on a course to become a personal fitness trainer.

He said: “I started out in the Football League with Bolton Wanderers and then went to Stockport County. I was still 16 when I had a loan spell at Northwich Victoria and then I was at Barrow for a few months before a season at Macclesfield.

“In 2014 I had a spell out of the game. At that time I was thinking about a career outside football. I wasn’t very happy playing at the level I was at but for whatever reason that’s where I was.

“It was a rough patch for me and I don’t really want to go into it. The main thing is that it all got sorted out.

“There were a lot of things going through my head when I had a break from football. There were a lot of things going on off the field and it all impacted on my football. I’m just glad I got it all sorted and I feel great now.

“When I was out of the game I was looking at the results every weekend. Apart from my brother Tommy, who plays professionally, I’ve got a lot of other mates who are also footballers and doing well. That made me determined to get back and do well myself.”

“Thankfully, when I got back in I got it together and did well. Being a personal fitness trainer wasn’t really for me — I just wanted to be playing. I did well towards the end of last season and the current season has been my best so far.

“I’ve been getting better and better with every season, and hopefully I’ll get better and better for Ipswich with every game.”

Rowe rejoined Macclesfield at the start of 2015 and things went well as the Silkmen only narrowly missed out on a play-off place, then he signed a new deal and impressed throughout the 2015/16 campaign, his form capturing the attention of scouts representing a string of league clubs.

He recalled: “I started off when I was 16 and when I’d just turned 17 I made my debut for Stockport in a League One game at Leeds United. The club went into administration and were relegated three seasons in a row, or something like that, so I went from playing in League One to the Conference and ended up staying at that level for a few seasons.

“You never think it’s going to be that long but I always had ambitions to get back again and it was just about getting it together. Thankfully, I’ve done it.”

Rowe’s career has often been mistaken for that of another Danny Rowe, who was also with Stockport and Barrow but has since moved on to AFC Fylde, where he is a prolific marksman.

Town’s new recruit laughed: “He followed me from Stockport to Barrow but when I moved to Macclesfield he went to Fylde, although some people obviously think I went there as well.

“That was the other Danny Rowe. I’ll take his goals — he’s got about 50 this season — but that’s about it!”

Photo: TWTD

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.