Peterhead midfielder Conor O’Keefe is delighted to be back making an impact for the Blue Toon after an injury-riddled season last term.
The midfielder netted a brace in Peterhead’s 3-0 opening-day win over East Fife last weekend and secured himself a place in the SPFL team of the week.
O’Keefe was pleased to make a telling contribution after more than than six months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The 25-year-old hopes he can keep contributing on the pitch for Peterhead, who host Stenhousemuir at Balmoor in their first home game of the League Two season on Saturday.
O’Keefe said: “I was buzzing. It was difficult last season for the team and also for myself because I got a really bad injury and missed a lot of games.
“To go to East Fife in the first game and put on a performance individually and as a team was the best possible start.
“It took a long time for me to get back from the knee injury. I feel like I’ve finally got my legs back and it’s not even just getting the goals, it’s having that sharpness and movement.
“When I came back at the end of last season for a few games I felt like I had lost a few yards and my body just couldn’t do what my mind wanted me to do.
“It’s really good to feel like I can move at full-speed again and get some goals.
“The main goal for me this season is just to stay as fit as I possibly can. I’ll be doing as much running as I can outside of training and will be working hard.”
Setting down a marker with win on first day of season
O’Keefe believes those who may have “written off” Peterhead ahead of the League Two season were proven wrong after the Blue Toon’s opening-day win at Bayview.
And the midfielder has backed his side to keep improving over the course of the season.
O’Keefe said: “Last season we were shocking and were relegated, so I think we were written off a bit by some people before this season even started.
“People thought because we were so poor last season that we’d be the same, but we’ve recruited well and are playing really nice football. If people were at the East Fife game they would’ve seen that.
“We dominated the game and other teams should look at that as us putting down a marker for the rest of the season.”
O’Keefe hopes Peterhead can deliver again against Stenny, saying: “It will be another tough game. They’ve probably got one of the strongest teams in the league on paper and have a really good manager.
“We want to carry the performance from last week into this one and do well in front of the fans.”
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