One Contender Exits, But a Big Name Enters the Conversation

Having been hotly-tipped to take over at Waterford last week, Ruaidhri Higgins appears to have chosen his favoured destination and will, instead, be returning to his old club Coleraine. Both Steve Beacom in the Belfast Telegraph and Neil O’Riordan in the Irish Sun are reporting that Higgins will be appointed by the NIFL side in the near future. The Telegraph had pre-empted Coleraine manager Dean Shiels’ departure last week with news that Higgins, the ex-Derry City manager, would replace him.

Higgins had been in talks with both Waterford and Athlone Town as well as Coleraine, but has chosen the club for whom he played in the 2015/16 season. It had appeared by Thursday last that he was headed for the RSC and that may have influenced the speed at which Coleraine have moved on from Shiels, son of another former Derry boss, Kenny, despite an impending European qualification playoff next week. 

Meanwhile, the Athlone vacancy will be filled by former Wexford manager Ian Ryan. The 37-year-old has been out of management since he left the top job at Bray Wanderers in May of 2024. Ryan rejected the offer to become Waterford manager in 2022 after the sacking of Ian Morris. That led to Danny Searle being appointed instead and taking the Blues to the promotion-relegation playoff and an FAI Cup semi-final.

With the Athlone vacancy out of the conversation, all eyes are on Waterford. Ireland Under 21 assistant manager Stephen Rice was linked with both jobs this week. The now-former Blues boss Keith Long was also suggested as a possibility to return to the club he managed in 2014. The decision-makers at Waterford now have a free run at Rice, but having spoken to several sources, I think it’s doubtful that he would be offered the role. An impressive coach and a fantastic leader in his playing days, he may have to wait a while longer to earn a full managerial position in the League of Ireland.

 

 

That brings us to a real bolt from blue as it has been strongly rumoured that former Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Duncan Ferguson is one of many who have shown interest in the Waterford job. There are always some unexpected applicants when this vacancy arises and, this time around, the former Scotland international is said to be one. 

Ferguson, a legendary Premier League player with Everton and Newcastle United, was sacked by Inverness when they were put into administration last October. He had been in charge of the Scottish Championship club for thirteen months and admitted to working for free during parts of the club’s financial struggles. Previously, he had an unsuccessful spell in charge of Forest Green Rovers in early 2023, winning only one of eighteen games at the helm.

Most famously, Ferguson had two short spells as caretaker manager of Everton and then became assistant to both Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez at the Merseyside club. Of course, the former striker is also well-known for his legal troubles with his fourth conviction for assault seeing him spend three months in prison in 1994 for an on-field headbutt while playing for Rangers.

It is not thought that Ferguson is a serious contender for the job and Matt Lawlor is likely to stay in control of team affairs for the time-being with back-to-back trips to Dublin this weekend to face Bohemians and Shelbourne. Lawlor ticks a lot of boxes as a much-admired part of the Fleetwood group, respected by players, and having turned the team’s fortunes around last Friday with a performance that was night-and-day in the contrast to the previous two months. Having a young family based in England may be the biggest obstacle to him taking the position permanently, but he is the most likely candidate at present, though others will still be considered.