“I hadn’t experienced the fans but, from social media, I felt enough love, even just seeing the response that the team gave after Christmas last year, the run that got the team promoted - that was more than enough pull for me. It kind of feels like home from home, for me. I feel like a Gashead. I am a Gashead now.”
Sometimes it’s okay to fall in love with loan players. And as Luke McCormick is evidence of, that seemingly fleeting connection can lead to a beautiful reunion further down the line.
McCormick’s loan spell in BS7 was a real mix of contradictions: a first full senior season in which he made an impressive contribution to a team that was relegated; his performances developing a bond with Gasheads and making him a certifiable fan favourite, while playing inside stadiums with no fans present.
Sitting in the media room at The Quarters, it’s impossible to ignore the sheer excitement in his voice at being back at the club after long negotiations over the summer between Rovers and AFC Wimbledon, as the League Two club stuck to their guns over their valuation of the midfielder, who was exiled from the first-team as the saga unfolded.
And while the presence of Joey Barton and his staff, who had remained in contact with McCormick throughout his time in south London having mentored him during his time on loan in 2020/21, was a huge pull, as was what transpired on May 7 against Scunthorpe United, the 23-year-old is in the unique spot of joining a club where he knows he’s already beloved by the fanbase and, in theory, can hit the ground running.
All the messages, replies and goodwill in his mentions over the last 12 months have had an impact on his decision-making as he admits, “I was never interested in anything else”.
Travelling down the M4 on Monday, McCormick filmed that promotional video (53,000 views and counting) on Monday at the Mem after a quick stop at McDonalds in Filton (he didn’t eat it, folks).
Stepping back into the ground, he afforded himself more than a few moments to visualise what had happened before - his first senior goal against Plymouth Argyle, but also the pain of relegation - but what he can’t yet picture, and is desperate to experience is the roar of the Gasheads on his back over the course of 90 minutes.
“My connection was through social media, because my time here was during a tricky period for the country and the world, so there were no fans in the stadium, but the love and support, I could feel that,” McCormick said. “So I can only thank them, not with my words but with my performances on the pitch and hopefully I can get to work as soon as possible and repay that.
“It’s something I’ve known about for a while, I wasn’t really interested in anything else. My heart was set here on coming back and, yes, it’s always a difficult situation. A lot of people talk and have their opinions but I’m just here to kick on, show the fans what I can do and repay the faith.
“I watched a lot last year and it was probably the first result I always checked, in all honesty. It’s something that was a really big pull for me, coming back was something that had been bugging me - I wanted to experience it (playing in front of the fans). I scored my first goal at the Mem and when I did the media stuff after my signing, being in the ground I was reminiscing on some of the good times, some of the bad times. It was quite special for me.
“All credit to the gaffer and his team, the owner and the CEO, they’ve been brilliant. They made it very clear, I’ve always kept in contact with all of them and they’ve made it very clear about me as a person, as a player and the feelings are very mutual.”
Given the transfer activity of the club since he left Rovers in May 2021, the squad is a very different beast to the one McCormick previously knew; Alfie Kilgour, Anssi Jaakkola and Josh Grant remain, plus Alex Rodman and Zain Westbrooke, albeit with the latter two expected to leave before next week’s transfer deadline, but everyone else is a new face.
And while familiarity comes with Barton, Andy Mangan and other backroom staff members, his daily place of work has also undergone a major facelift after the struggles of using The Quarters while it was in full development mode during the 2020/21 season.
Which is a good thing because he’s going to see a lot of the place over the next few weeks as he undergoes extra sessions on his own individual fitness programme to get him fully up to match speed after several lost weeks while ostracised by AFC Wimbledon.
“I’ve been here for two or three days now and the boys have been class with me,” he added. “A really good and tight-knit group. And, to be honest, a lot has changed - the standard has really gone up, this is definitely - for me, personally, with my time at Chelsea - the standards here are a level above, in terms of the facilities. Even when I’m sitting down having the food - different class. It’s just a real place where you can succeed.
“When you can come into work every day and (you like) the people you’re working for, I think that makes a massive difference and it’s something that’ll get the best out of me.
“I’ve had a good couple of days so I’m feeling fresh and feeling strong but that’s very different to playing in a competitive match and part of my game is energy and I want to be at a level where I can impact the game. There’s no token gesture appearances at this level and I wouldn’t want that for myself or the team. I want to make sure I’m at a level where I’m happy at, the S&C coach is happy at and the gaffer, who picks the team, is.”
McCormick spent time in the summer to try to reconcile with a second straight relegation which, although isn’t brought up in questioning, clearly hurts him, as AFC Wimbledon followed Rovers 12 months earlier into League Two.
Of course, in a team game, you can debate on the merits of attributing culpability to individuals within such failure but the fact he feels it says a lot about his competitive character.
Part of his rehabilitation process was spent at Knebworth among the 160,000 who attended the two Liam Gallagher concerts in early June - “one of the best days of my life”, he notes - and McCormick is an unapologetic Oasis and Liam disciple - to the point he refers to him as “LG”, like a mate.
He turned up to his signing on Monday in a Liam t-shirt, has a ‘Supersonic’ tattoo on his leg in tribute to his favourite song, while his Apple Watch bears the icon as his screensaver.
“LG is a bit of a hero for me. I’m all over him. Love his attitude, love the music, like his style. I think I’ve probably taken it a bit too far - I’m a proper super-fan,” he said. “I listen to him before games, I listen to him to chill out; it’s just something that works for me.
“I took a week to digest what had happened (the relegation). I can’t say it doesn’t affect me, because it does. I’m a winner and I don’t like losing and to have those two relegations on my CV in my first spell in men’s football is upsetting and something you have got to live with because now all I can do to overturn that is to go the other way, and that’s what I’m motivated to do and I’m very confident that’s something I can do here.”
Part of McCormick’s appeal, beyond what Barton and his staff know what he can do, is what he’s potentially capable of given his ceiling is yet to be hit. The Rovers manager backs himself to improve every player he works with and in McCormick he sees a potential star in the making.
His year at AFC Wimbledon has added another 47 appearances into his brain and body and although the season itself wasn’t a success, he returns to the Gas a more experienced and refined and probably wiser footballer, capable of covering multiple positions in his area of expertise.
“I can play anywhere in midfield. I played further forward, I can also play deeper - wherever the gaffer puts me, I’m sure it’ll change game by game and the personnel. Wherever I’m asked to play, I’ll give 100 per cent,” he added.
“Make no bones about it. Like the gaffer said, and we have to be realistic, but there’s only one goal if you’re at a football club and that’s to be successful. And success would be to get in the Championship, whether that’s this season or the next. Obviously, coming up from League Two, but with the players, the group and the gaffer’s looking to recruit - the sky’s the limit.
“For me, playing games is massive. Last year I dealt with a lot of adversity in terms of how it didn’t go as planned. I’m a wholehearted player and that’s one thing I can promise every game. I can’t promise I’m going to bend one into the top corner every week, but what I can say is I’ll give my all for the team, the gaffer and the fans.”
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