Carroll trains with Mallards as he seeks a return to England

The Northern Ireland keeper’s contract with Greek side Olympiakos ended last month and Roy is hoping that he can now seal a deal to return closer to home.

“Greece is a lovely place to live in and it’s more relaxed there but I felt like I wanted to come back and play in English football again if I can,” he said. “I have a few teams that might want me to come back to Greece but I want to keep my options open. My family has moved back to Ireland now and I want to be close to them and try to get a team in the UK if everything works out OK. There is nothing much happening at the moment. I have an agent in Greece and there are a few teams interested in Greece but I am holding out for another couple of weeks and see what happens in England. Hopefully, something might pop up but if not I will have to look at other situations somewhere else in Europe.” While Roy awaits news from interested clubs he is keeping himself in shape alongside Ballinamallard’s goalkeepers, joining the squad for a training session this week. “It’s just keeping me in shape,” he said. “You can do all the bike rides and all the running you want in the world, but when you are doing goalkeeping training it is using different parts of the body. It just keeps me ticking over and if anybody does come in at a late stage I will be prepared and ready to play if they want me to come and join the team.” Although Roy is now 36 he believes he can still perform at a high level. “I’ve got plenty to offer,” he said. “I feel young and ready to go again. My body is doing well and as long as my body keeps going and my mind keeps going I want to play as long as I can. It’s not like an outfield player, so hopefully I can continue for a while longer.” Roy knows the longer he is without a club the greater the threat to his position as Northern Ireland’s number one, and he is desperate to continue representing his country. “I want to continue playing at club level to help keep my spot in the Northern Ireland squad,” he said. “I haven’t got many years left at international level because the next campaign will last two years and that will finish in 2015/16 with the Euros. I played two games in South America and that really helped me because I hadn’t played for a while and I was happy with that. It gave me good belief because I did very well over there and it was nice to get the games.” When the time does come to wind down his career Roy admits he would consider becoming a coach, but prior to that he has not ruled out a move home to play for his local club, Ballinamallard. “I started my career in Ballinamallard and my family has moved over here and they are happy here so you never know. In football you never say never.”