Adam Eckersley Prepared To Fight For Title With FC Edmonton

Photo credit: Ian Georgeson

FC Edmonton defender Adam Eckersley recently signed with the Canadian side from Scotland. Now, Eckersley is already headed back to the UK to take part in the Eddies’ preseason trip.

Eckersley, 30, helped previous club Hearts win the Scottish Championship title in the 2014-15 season and, with it, promotion to the league’s top division.

“I signed in September and I came from Denmark,” Eckersley told NASL.com. “The manager said to me he wanted me to bring experience to the team. I think we went unbeaten for 20 games [to start the season]. We went to clinch the title in Easter. It was an unbelievable experience.”

Now in Edmonton, Eckersley is hoping to add more titles to his résumé.

“I want to be pushing on and challenging for things,” he said. “With the additions, and the way we look in training, we have a decent squad and a lot of depth. Who says we can’t go on and challenge for the league? It’s a good opportunity for me to come in and do well. Hopefully we can bond as a team and get into the playoffs.”

Eckersley, who started his career with Manchester United, won’t be too far away from what he experienced in Scotland, though. FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller is a Scottish-born Canadian international that spent the majority of his career in his native country.

“He’s a Scottish manager and he’s played for some of the teams I’ve played for,” Eckersley said of Miller. “He learned his trade over there. He applies the same culture as you would in Europe. He’s an aggressive-minded manager that wants the team to be pressing.”

Before joining Edmonton, Eckersley contacted Ritchie Jones as the pair played together with Manchester United. He also asked his brother, Richard, about playing in North America. The younger Eckersley brother spent time playing for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and told his older brother “how much he loved it in Canada.”

Eckersley, along with his desire to win The Championship, brings his experience to help some of the younger members of the Eddies squad and he noted he will lead by example.

“Hopefully my professionalism around the place and the way I work in training, they’ll see it and it can rub off on some of the younger players,” he said.