The man who coached Shane Long during his days as an underage hurler in Tipperary believes the Reading striker would have won an All-Ireland medal this year had he not changed codes.

Gortnahoe native Long will partner Robbie Keane up front for the Republic of Ireland's crucial European soccer qualifier against Slovakia tonight, but his former coach Tomas Gleeson is convinced he could have gone on to achieve big things on the hurling field if he hadn't decided to embark on a professional soccer career five years ago.

"What I admired early on about Shane was his attitude to the game and his maturity and I think he has carried that with him," Gleeson said of the former Tipperary minor hurler.

"When our club Gortnahoe won the under 16 county championship in 2001, he was the youngest on the team at only 14-years-old. He also played on the under 16 football team which also won the county that year - making club history in the process.

"If he has stayed with the hurling, he would have possibly gone onto under 21 and possibly senior and could have been on the panel or played last month against Kilkenny in croke Park.

"He was a good mixer when I coached him and popular among the lads. He was easy to coach and manage. He is also a bit of a singer and has sang at occasions in the past." Tweet

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