Taking The Next Step

After the success of Ronan Mansfield’s year-long loan with Fleetwood Town, two more young Blues are getting the opportunity to experience the same development programme under the guidance of Under 21s coach Matt Lawlor. As the partnership between the two clubs continues to be strengthened, Calum Costello and Zak O’Sullivan are due to begin a season each with the League Two club in the northwest of England.

Costello will return from his loan with Bray Wanderers this weekend in order to travel to the UK. O’Sullivan, who has just completed his Leaving Certificate exams, was due to begin his term with Fleetwood this week. Coaches and staff within both clubs feel that Mansfield’s year away was such a success that it has paved the way for other players to follow the same path and progress to first team football with Waterford.

Mansfield played over thirty games in the Professional Development League and even captained Fleetwood’s Under 21s last season. Chairman Jamie Pilley spoke very enthusiastically last week about Ronan’s development and how he is ready to play for Waterford now in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He has been playing at a strong youth level for a year facing clubs such as Brentford, Burnley, Southampton and Sheffield United on a weekly basis.

 

Ronan Mansfield's advice being taken in by a young fan (Abbeyside AFC)

 

The 19-year-old, who joined Waterford from Cappoquin Railway at Under 15s level in 2019, has been converted fully into a centre back now after playing much of his youth football as a left back. He returned to Waterford at the beginning of last month and has been training with the first team ever since. Having been registered with the Cods on loan for the ‘24/’25 season, he has to wait until the 1st of July to resume eligibility to play for Waterford.

His year in England was a resounding success and culminated in being named in Fleetwood’s first team squad for the League Two fixture away to Chesterfield in April. He is bigger, stronger and faster than when he left – not to mention more experienced – and it would seem he is primed for first team football now. 

Mansfield’s first cousin, Calum Costello, will now swap places with him by heading to Fleetwood. His season-long loan with Bray Wanderers will be cut short after their match in Athlone tomorrow night and he will start a differentiated preseason programme at Poolfoot Farm (top picture) next week. Calum has made nine starts so far this season in the First Division and a further ten appearances off the bench as a substitute. He scored his first league goal with a thumping strike against Kerry in March and was part of a Bray team that went on a club record seven-game winning streak leaving them currently lying third in the First Division table.

 

Classic Calum - striking against Rockmount last year (Noel Browne)

 

Blues fans will be familiar with Costello as the star of last year’s Munster Senior Cup final when he scored a spectacular winning goal and earned the official Man of the Match award. He signed a professional contract with Waterford a week later. Having turned 19 last month, the versatile midfielder/forward is in his seventh season with the club after joining from Carrick United at the Under 13s grade.

His companion for the year will be Zak O’Sullivan, the tall striker who joined Waterford’s Under 13s from Tramore AFC back in 2020. A centre back in his schoolboy football days, he has developed into a powerful goalscorer who is deceptively quick for his height. Zak turned 18 in April and marked it by scoring two goals against Kerry on his birthday. He has spent the season playing for the Under 20s under the tutelage of Eddie Nolan and Paddy Carey. 

O’Sullivan has also appeared in the matchday squad for the first team fourteen times this season, but remained on the bench each time. He will surely have felt frustrated at not being given his league debut, but this exciting challenge will give him an entirely new focus. Having scored four goals in eight games for the Under 20s this season, Zak’s last appearance with the Blues, for the time-being, was Saturday’s impressive 2-0 win away to UCD in the elite phase.

 

Fleetwood Zak: Celebrating his goal against his new loan club (Noel Browne)

 

Also a talented basketballer, Zak made Blues fans sit up and take note two years ago when, aged just 16, he scored Waterford’s consolation goal in the 5-1 friendly defeat to Fleetwood at the RSC. A late substitute for Thomas Oluwa, O’Sullivan collected a pass from Serge Atakayi and rifled the ball past goalkeeper David Harrington to the top corner. He went on to make his international debut for the Republic of Ireland Under 18s in a friendly away to Croatia last November and is a player with real promise.

Like Mansfield, the two local players will benefit tremendously from full-time professional training in the world class facilities at the Poolfoot Farm complex. Lawlor has become a key influence at both clubs following his salvage job as interim manager at Waterford and his years coaching with Fleetwood. Calum and Zak should thrive under his mentorship and return ready for Premier Division football. Meanwhile, Ronan will be looking to break into the first team quickly after his year away. This programme is a major advantage of the link between the two clubs and an exciting possibility for other academy players in the future.