Home’s finally where gypsy Maclaren’s heart is

Melbourne City recruit Jamie Maclaren says it has been a dream of his to play in front of his family in his hometown.

Melbourne City recruit Jamie Maclaren at training. Source: Supplied

Jamie Maclaren has spent more than half his football life fending for himself overseas, learning about life and what it and the sport can throw up at you.

Having gone to Europe at the age of 15, it has generally been a hard, often frustrating road for the talented striker, who has never been short on confidence.

Sometimes, however, you need to take a step back and draw some breath. At 25, Maclaren, now back from a second overseas stint that didn’t quite turn out as well as he had hoped, is looking forward to kickstarting his career in the A-League with more time on the field.

It is familiar territory for him. After almost five years at English club Blackburn Rovers, he returned to spend time at Perth Glory and then Brisbane Roar where he managed 18 goals during the 2015-16 season and ended up finishing second in the A-League Golden Boot award behind Bruno Fornaroli.

This time, the goalscorer, who has returned from a three-year stint overseas, will get the chance to remind fans of his wondrous talent in front of goals having signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Melbourne City — a deal that will see him play out of his home town for the first time in his senior football career.

“It has always been a dream of mine to play in front of my family,” Maclaren, who was born in Sunbury, a little over 40km northwest of Melbourne, said yesterday in his first, official media ­appearance since joining the club.

“People say Europe is the Holy Grail but, at the end of the day, if you are playing at any level it is great. City offered me a great deal and I’ve always wanted to play in Melbourne.”

While he will be looking to ­reload here, Maclaren would not be drawn into whether he would be tempted to try his luck in ­Europe again.

“There were a number of ­opportunities in Europe, the UK and I still had the contract (with German club Darmstadt). I was still on loan to Hibernian but sometimes as a footballer you want to be happy and for me I found the A-League so good for me. So why not come back home?

“As for going back, football can change very quickly. City have shown great faith in me financially and with the length of the contract, so I just want to work my arse off and show City and (coach) Warren (Joyce) what I can do. I am committed to the club and helping them win titles.”

During his time, first with Darmstadt then with Hibs, ­Maclaren had to wrestle with a number of issues he admits took a little of the enjoyment out of his football.

“In my case, Germany was hard because they wanted me to play in a different position and I wasn’t happy,” he said. “Hibs (where he was on loan) was great for the first six months then I got injured.

“I got myself back but I also wanted to focus on the Asian Cup. While I was with the Socceroos the coach (Neil Lennon) got sacked.

“I had to evaluate the situation then. A new manager comes in and they don’t usually like loan players so they concentrate on the permanent players. I only had three months left on my contract.”

Maclaren, who only arrived last Saturday, said he wants to continue to evolve as a player.

“I am here to learn but I am still a goal threat, I am still the same player, the player that stays in and around the box,” he added. “For me, this club seemed to look like they wanted a striker who just wants to be in and around the 18-yard box and get on the end of crosses. That’s my sort of job, to be in the box, be dangerous.”