Convening the Conclave

The talk of Waterford this week is who will replace Keith Long as the new manager of the Blues and can they turn around a slump that has seen them lose their last seven league games. While it was initially announced (on Sunday) that Matt Lawlor would lead the team as Interim Head Coach “for the coming weeks”, it is now believed that the process to find a permanent manager will not take as long. The club’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Curwood, arrived in Waterford today and, to play along a topical theme, we may see white smoke as early as this weekend.

While Lawlor is in the hotseat right now, is he settling in for the long haul or just keeping the seat warm for another contender? Liked and respected by players here last year, the Fleetwood Town Under 21 boss stepped into the breach this week and will hope to see a positive reaction tomorrow against Derry City. He could make a very successful manager here, but my understanding is it’s more likely that someone with more experience in the League of Ireland will be appointed on a permanent basis.

 

Interim Head Coach Matt Lawlor

 

I believe that Waterford spoke to Colin Healy early this week, as was suggested in the Irish Examiner, but that he is not ready to return to League of Ireland at this moment. The ex-Ireland international managed Cork City from 2021 until he resigned in May of ’23. He was at the centre of a media frenzy recently after the manner of his dismissal from his role as assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland women’s team last year.

The Irish Independent reported on Monday that Ruaidhri Higgins had been “sounded out” by Waterford about the manager’s job. Other reports suggest he is the favourite to take over at Coleraine and that he is wanted by the potential new owners of Athlone Town for that currently vacant position. The 40-year-old managed Derry City from April 2021 until last November’s shock FAI Cup final defeat to Drogheda United. Despite winning the cup two years previously, his tenure at the Brandywell was viewed as a disappointment with huge investment failing to deliver success against comparatively smaller-budgeted teams in Shelbourne and Drogheda. Based in the northwest, he would not be relocating to Waterford so would be commuting the 250 miles to the southeast. My belief is that Athlone is his most likely destination, but the Waterford job might tempt him to travel further.

 

Former Derry City manager Ruaidhri Higgins

 

Vinny Perth was another name mentioned in discussion by fans. Stephen Kenny’s former assistant at Dundalk carried on their dominant run by leading the Louthmen to the league title in 2019, but has been out of management since 2021. Now a pundit on Virgin Media, it is unclear if the 48-year-old has designs on returning to management.

Marc Bircham was a cult hero as a manager with Waterford in 2021 when he almost salvaged an impossible situation to keep the Blues in the Premier Division only to be sacked three days before the playoff final in a storyline straight out of Dream Team. Having coached in Italy and the US since leaving Suirside, the former QPR star has always insisted he has “unfinished business” in Waterford and even claims an unverified financial stake in the club. He helped broker the deal for Fleetwood Town to buy the club in 2022, but is working in the Middle East at present and it appears a very long shot that he would come back at this time.

Moving farther leftfield, Richard Dunne was linked before and was known to be keen to get into the league. Yet nobody gave him a job and that might say enough in itself. It would seem a disastrous match to put a first-time manager in charge of a troubled ship like Waterford’s at the moment. The same reasoning could be copied-and-pasted for any newcomer to management. 

Within the club, coach Matt Craddock’s name was mooted on Saturday, but when he wasn’t given the caretaker role, then I think it’s safe to rule him out of the top job. The Blues have two highly-experienced players in Pádraig Amond and Andy Boyle, but I don’t believe either is interested in management just yet. The player-manager role is becoming rare in modern football and Waterford certainly can’t afford to lose either of them from the playing staff.

 

Alan Reynolds embraces Keith Long - photograph by Noel Browne

 

Let’s consider those already in jobs. There are two former Blues players currently in charge of Premier Division clubs. Alan Reynolds is by far Waterford’s most successful manager over the past four decades with Premier Division finishes of 5th, 4th and 6th in his seasons in charge here, a First Division title and our last appearance in an FAI Cup final. He left his assistant manager role at the club last year when the opportunity to be a number one arose. At best he has had mixed fortunes with Bohemians, but with three wins out of four, including that stunning comeback in Tallaght on Monday, it seems unlikely that he would part ways with the Dubliners to move home.

The other is Kevin Doherty, who played with the Blues in 2005 on loan from Shelbourne. He has done an outstanding job at Drogheda United since he stepped up from the assistant’s role after Tim Clancy left in 2001 and is finally getting the credit he deserves. A Dubliner who had been working part-time until this season, he has Europa League football to look forward to as reward for winning the FAI Cup last year. With Drogheda topping the table at present, we can surely rule out a move for him.

Of course, another possibility is that there is an appointment from England – a complete outsider that will send fans straight to Google and Wikipedia to learn about their background. That works out sometimes and, other times, doesn’t. It can be a major gamble. While Bircham was, in my opinion, a success, despite the farcical ending, Ian Hendon most definitely wasn’t and Danny Searle came up short.

It's a sign of the more professional approach at Waterford FC nowadays that cards are kept close to chests and information is less likely to leak out. It’s probably anyone’s guess who will get the job. My feeling is that it will be someone with experience in the League of Ireland who can motivate a team to perform to their best. Ideally, they would be based here so that they can work within the club as a whole throughout the full week instead of commuting.

Those criteria point towards Reynolds, who I know the club’s administrators admire greatly, but his position with Bohemians most likely rules him out of contention. It may well be a complete wildcard who we haven’t considered, but Blues fans will wait with bated breath like pilgrims in St Peter’s Square seeking news of a new pontiff.