Exclusive interview: Former Wolves midfielder Connor Ronan on his stateside switch

Ronan’s chances were few and far between at Wolves last season, before he made the switch across the pond in January to join up with Colorado Rapids.

Alongside his wife Tianna and their newborn son Francis, Ronan’s priority at the time of his move was getting his family settled in their new surroundings.

“With my previous loan moves it was a fairly easy transition,” Ronan told the Express & Star.

“Being English-speaking helps massively and I was at a point in my career where I needed that stability and that place to call home,” Ronan told the Express & Star.

“I was at that point a little bit earlier but maybe it wasn’t the right time or move, but this move came at the right time and the transition went smoothly.

“My partner and I had a little boy three months before we came here, so if anything it was probably a good thing to get him over here at a young age and we’re all settled off the pitch.

“My partner has been with me on every move I’ve had, on the same journey.

“She was in the same mindset as me. She wasn’t really fussed where we ended up, we just wanted that stability of staying somewhere longer than six months or a year.

“When you’re younger it’s all about football and the focus is on that, which is how it should be, but when you start to get older and have other commitments that starts to play a part in the moves.

“That played a big part in this one. I got a lot of confidence from my conversations with the club that they would be looked after once we came over.

“Fair play to the club as they stuck to all their promises and made the transition as smooth as possible.

“I don’t want to speak for her, but I’d like to say we’re living happily over here.”

On the pitch the Rapids have been struggling as they sit bottom of the MLS western conference.

Despite that, Ronan has found what he has always been craving – regular football.

His several loans away from Wolves offered mixed results – with his spell at Scottish side St Mirren the most successful.

After each of those loans, however, he returned to Wolves with his future uncertain – and now with a long contract in America, that stability in his career has been key.

He added: “On the pitch the transition has been fine. I joined up with the team in pre-season which helped a lot, as I had a chance to get to know the lads and bond a bit.

“Since then I’ve played every game. The stability off the pitch helps with that, to concentrate on my football.

“We’ve not had the greatest of seasons and there’s a lot to work on, but for me personally it’s nice to have that important role and that confidence from the manager and the club of playing every game.

“With the experience I’ve had in all different leagues, every one has differences and you need that adaptation period. The first few games are always difficult and you have to get up with the tempo.

“In this league particularly, there are a lot of transitions and a lot of counter-attacks. The attackers are key in this league, it’s where a lot of the budgets are spent and you can see that on the pitch.

“There’s a lot of fast wingers, tricky numbers 10s and big presences up front. That can be tough when you lose the ball and you have four, five or six players staying up the pitch to attack all the time.

“That’s probably the biggest difference from leagues I’ve played in, in the past. You’ll find the teams that do well in this league are those that limit the counter-attacks and dominate teams in their half.”

As the Americans say – Ronan has been Colorado’s MVP this season. To you and I, that makes him their most important player in a difficult campaign.

He has played 26 league matches to date in the middle of the park, with former Wolves alumni Jack Price out with a serious injury.

Price – and his success in the MLS – played a big part in Ronan making the switch and that Wolves connection was integral.

But how does Ronan reflect on his Wolves career?

“I’ll always be thankful to Wolves because there’s an emotional attachment there,” he said.

“Leaving home as a kid, moving away from your family and going to live somewhere else, there will always be an emotional element to it.

“It was the first step in my professional career and making your debut is always special. I’m always keeping an eye on the games and keeping in touch with a few people.

“I’ll always look back on my time there fondly, even if it probably didn’t go as I would have liked. Maybe there was one or two loans moves more than I would have liked and I could have moved on if the timing was better.

“But I was always hanging on to the hope of getting into the team. When I was offered new contracts I would always take it seriously because even if it meant I went on loan, it was always in the back of my mind to get back to Wolves.

“I’d gone on loans and done well, but when you don’t get the chance to get in front of the manager it lingers in your mind. So it was nice to have that period of training with elite players and it was a real learning curve where I could test myself.

“At the end of the day I got to play in the Premier League for the club that I made my debut for, so I’ll never look back on my time with any regret.

“I’ll always be thankful to the club, the coaches and everyone I worked with along the way, for the opportunity I was given.”

One of the stand-out moments for Ronan in a Wolves shirt was the 0-0 draw away at Manchester City in the Carabao Cup in 2017, which City eventually won on penalties.

Wolves, a Championship side under Nuno Espirito Santo at the time, had several chances to win the game in an impressive performance.

Ronan came off the bench to feature in that game, against the likes of Yaya Toure, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero, to name a few.

Ronan said: "It's strange when I look back because it's a little bit of a blur, but you look back at pictures of the game and it can feel a little bit surreal.

"It came so early in my career and everything happens so quickly. At that age, you never get a chance to process what's going on, so it's nice to look back now and realise what a big opportunity it was for me and also for the club.

"We were doing really well in the Championship and we were so full of confidence, but it was strange to be playing the best team in the league above. Even though it was so early in the season, we showed we were ready to make that step up.

"That showed the next season when we did get promoted and how well the club did in the Premier League.

"For me, that would probably be the game that stands out, playing against some of the best players in the world. That opportunity doesn't come around very often."

That Premier League debut for Wolves – however fleeting – was a special moment for the 25-year-old.

A late substitute appearance against Brighton at Molineux under interim boss Steve Davis, followed by a Carabao Cup start days later, were the only two appearances Ronan made for Wolves last season after Bruno Lage chose to keep him with the team.

As a stalwart professional, Ronan stuck by the club that gave him his senior debut as a teenager and eventually made him a Premier League footballer.

For his family life and career he needed a change, but he credits Wolves and the people that brought him to Molineux from Rochdale as a 16-year-old, for the life he has been able to create.

For now, Colorado is his home and although a return to Europe is on the cards in the future, he needs consistency in his work and private life.

“I’d like to think maybe towards the end of my career (I’d return to Europe), but with how things are off the pitch and how settled and happy we are, it would be nice to stay,” he said.

“I’ve not had that before, so if I could stay at one club for an extended amount of time, I’d like to think that would get the best out of me.

“I don’t want to look too far into the future and I’m definitely happy where I am at the minute, so hopefully I can continue playing consistently and we can have a better season next season.”