DERRY CITY CHAIRMAN Mr Philip O’Doherty expects to appoint Declan Devine’s successor over the next 48 hours.
The Brandywell club parted ways with Devine on Thursday morning after a winless run of six games which has left them rooted to the bottom of the table.
Mr O’Doherty admitted the fear of relegation prompted him to act swiftly and he’s confident he can find a replacement over the weekend.
While the Chairman refused to reveal the potential candidates for the Brandywell hotseat, he admitted the Board have identified a shortlist.
Republic of Ireland’s Chief Scout and Opposition Analyst and former Derry midfielder Ruaidhrí Higgins is considered favourite for the vacant post and is currently completing his Uefa Pro License.
Cliftonville manager and ex-Candystripes defender Paddy McLaughlin and Finn Harps assistant boss, Paul Hegarty have also emerged among the early frontrunners for the job.
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Other names to be linked include former Dundalk manager Vinny Perth, Institute boss Sean Connor who had spells in the League of Ireland with Dundalk, Bohemians and Sligo, and former Donegal GAA manager Jim McGuinness.
Whoever gets the nod, Mr O’Doherty insists they must buy into the club’s current youth policy but he’s prepared to back them in the summer transfer window.
“There is certainly no one appointed at the minute,” he revealed. “We have a few candidates but I can’t really say too much more on that at this moment. Hopefully it will happen pretty quickly because he does need a chance to have a reasonable number of games to turn this around.
“The youth policy is not going to change,” he insisted. “That’s really important. We’ve already had a successful season in terms of young Ronan Boyce coming through and I know Declan has been really positive about him. So that policy is not going to change. I think that has to be done for the future of Derry City Football Club.
“But we’re still looking to challenge and whoever comes in will have enough experience to get the best out of the squad we have and hopefully will be able to strengthen it in the middle of the season as well. They’ll be able to attract the right players to the football club. We haven’t done that in enough numbers over the last couple of years.
Exit door: Declan Devine. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
“Declan last year was unlucky with a lot of the signings he made,” he continued. “A lot of them were loan signings but it’s very difficult to encourage players to come up North in the middle of a pandemic. Hopefully that’s subsided and we will have Covid nearly beaten by the summer time. Whatever manager comes in, hopefully they will have a better climate to attract new players in and strengthen the squad we have.”
Devine, who was handed a one-year contract extension last August, registered just two points from 18 available in the opening six matches and Mr O’Doherty claimed the club simply couldn’t afford to lose further ground and opted for a change.
“I did think about it long and hard and it wasn’t an easy decision but I think it was the right decision for the football club and for Declan. Obviously it’s extremely stressful to be sitting with two points after six games. We’re very much in a relegation struggle not even a third way into the season.
“We haven’t lost touch with the teams in and around us which is a positive but we need to get a win and more points on the board very quickly. The question was; do we think Declan could do it or are we better to bring somebody else in? So obviously the latter was the decision made.
“It was a decision which could’ve gone either way,” he admitted.
Murray Kinsella, Bernard Jackman and Gavan Casey look at the bigger picture for Irish women’s rugby, the disconnect between the amateur and pro games, and the anticlimactic ‘northern’ Rainbow Cup.
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Ireland chief scout the frontrunner of interesting list as Derry set to appoint new boss over next 48 hours
DERRY CITY CHAIRMAN Mr Philip O’Doherty expects to appoint Declan Devine’s successor over the next 48 hours.
The Brandywell club parted ways with Devine on Thursday morning after a winless run of six games which has left them rooted to the bottom of the table.
Mr O’Doherty admitted the fear of relegation prompted him to act swiftly and he’s confident he can find a replacement over the weekend.
While the Chairman refused to reveal the potential candidates for the Brandywell hotseat, he admitted the Board have identified a shortlist.
Republic of Ireland’s Chief Scout and Opposition Analyst and former Derry midfielder Ruaidhrí Higgins is considered favourite for the vacant post and is currently completing his Uefa Pro License.
Cliftonville manager and ex-Candystripes defender Paddy McLaughlin and Finn Harps assistant boss, Paul Hegarty have also emerged among the early frontrunners for the job.
Other names to be linked include former Dundalk manager Vinny Perth, Institute boss Sean Connor who had spells in the League of Ireland with Dundalk, Bohemians and Sligo, and former Donegal GAA manager Jim McGuinness.
Whoever gets the nod, Mr O’Doherty insists they must buy into the club’s current youth policy but he’s prepared to back them in the summer transfer window.
“There is certainly no one appointed at the minute,” he revealed. “We have a few candidates but I can’t really say too much more on that at this moment. Hopefully it will happen pretty quickly because he does need a chance to have a reasonable number of games to turn this around.
“The youth policy is not going to change,” he insisted. “That’s really important. We’ve already had a successful season in terms of young Ronan Boyce coming through and I know Declan has been really positive about him. So that policy is not going to change. I think that has to be done for the future of Derry City Football Club.
“But we’re still looking to challenge and whoever comes in will have enough experience to get the best out of the squad we have and hopefully will be able to strengthen it in the middle of the season as well. They’ll be able to attract the right players to the football club. We haven’t done that in enough numbers over the last couple of years.
“Declan last year was unlucky with a lot of the signings he made,” he continued. “A lot of them were loan signings but it’s very difficult to encourage players to come up North in the middle of a pandemic. Hopefully that’s subsided and we will have Covid nearly beaten by the summer time. Whatever manager comes in, hopefully they will have a better climate to attract new players in and strengthen the squad we have.”
Devine, who was handed a one-year contract extension last August, registered just two points from 18 available in the opening six matches and Mr O’Doherty claimed the club simply couldn’t afford to lose further ground and opted for a change.
“I did think about it long and hard and it wasn’t an easy decision but I think it was the right decision for the football club and for Declan. Obviously it’s extremely stressful to be sitting with two points after six games. We’re very much in a relegation struggle not even a third way into the season.
“We haven’t lost touch with the teams in and around us which is a positive but we need to get a win and more points on the board very quickly. The question was; do we think Declan could do it or are we better to bring somebody else in? So obviously the latter was the decision made.
“It was a decision which could’ve gone either way,” he admitted.
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Murray Kinsella, Bernard Jackman and Gavan Casey look at the bigger picture for Irish women’s rugby, the disconnect between the amateur and pro games, and the anticlimactic ‘northern’ Rainbow Cup.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
candyshop Declan Devine Derry City philip o'doherty Ruaidhri Higgins