The former Irish premier league soccer player yesterday said his move to Ballarat was a lifestyle decision, not a financial one, and that he had knocked back lucrative offers elsewhere to join the Haymes Red Devils.
Shelley arrived in Australia this week after finally reaching a settlement with embattled former club Bohemians FC.
He has taken up a promotions and development role at the Ballarat club but said his main motivation is still to “play football”.
“I don’t plan to disappear in 12 months. I want to be here for the long haul,” the former Irish international said.
“I’ve come here to play and to win things. I want to bring success to this team. I haven’t come here to do other things with football being second. That’s simply not the case.
“Another factor is to start looking at being a coach. I started looking at it a couple of years ago and I got my UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) B-coach licence. It (coaching) is something I want to do, maybe with one of the Ballarat Academy of Soccer sides.”
Shelley said he had considered a move to Australia before the financial crisis that led to his falling out with Bohemians.
“I started thinking about it two years ago. Two of my friends have done it (moved to Australia),” the defender said.
“One who I speak with regularly is Jason Gavin, who is playing in Perth (with Stirling Lions in the Football West State League), and he told me it is a nice place and the football is decent.”
The process accelerated after the Irish club failed to pay him for eight weeks at the end of last season which led to a petition by Shelley and other players to wind up the club. The players withdrew the court action after settling with the Dublin club last week.
“Bohemians is a massive club that has won a lot of things,” the 29-year-old said.
“The situation in Ireland is a shame but a lot of Irish football boards have been making bad decisions. They have been gambling on winning European trophies and promising things they can’t deliver. There was sadness (about leaving Bohemians) but no sadness towards the people running the club because of the way they treat the players.”
