retired_amyslack

Thanks richard - I certainly hope it is

Season Six – 2009/2010

Hang In There Paddy
In the aftermath of our most successful season thus far I gave further thought to my position at Kilkenny. On the plus side I was hugely encouraged by our overall performance and we had some exciting youth prospects coming through into the first team. The downside was that we were still regarded in Ireland as inconsequential minnows and this would always be the case until we secured a trophy or two. I was concerned by the apparent lack of ambition shown by the Chairman – Mr. Reidy seemed content with Premiership survival and he had steadfastly refused to take the club out of their Semi-Pro status. But on balance I decided that I would stay put and have another crack at some silverware.

I was now entering my 6th season in management and over the course of the winter I rehashed my backroom team – Brendan Rea and several others left with half a dozen new faces coming in as coaches. I was also so concerned about our injury problems that I built up Viv’s physio team once more, adding two more staff to her organisation. I figured that I might as well invest some cash in boosting our ability to make the most of our Academy Players. I was also encouraged when the Board agreed to my request to improve our training facilities and they acted quickly to upgrade our facilities well in advance of the start of the season.

On the playing front senior players Maher, Mallon and Weir were released at the end of their contracts. With over 20 graduates coming through from the Academy I spent some time with the coaching staff deciding who to keep on and we let around a dozen of the younger lads leave the club. I also brought in a young full back, Darren O’Brien, on loan from Kildare County for the season.

I was enthused by a successful pre-season campaign during which we won all six of our games and young midfielders Alan Curran and Mark Kelly really impressed. Curran had made a few appearances last season without really making an impact but if the pre-season was anything to go by then he could offer Shane Walsh a real challenge on the right of midfield. Kelly had really caught the eye in the U18’s and now that he had turned 16 he would certainly be given a chance in the first eleven. The youngsters apart there was no real change to the first team squad but I was confident that we had more strength in depth than was previously the case.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Ward | GK | IRL | 21 | £5K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Keegan | GK | IRL | 18 | £14K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan O'Brien | SW/D C | IRL | 20 | £6K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Niall Quinn | SW/D C | IRL | 18 | £3K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Leahy | D R | IRL | 28 | £6K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Cosgrove | D R | IRL | 24 | £3K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Rushe | D L | IRL | 26 | £2K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Eric McCormack | D L | IRL | 25 | £1K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Darren O'Brien | D LC | IRL | 19 | £2K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan O'Leary | D C | IRL | 21 | £3K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Malone | D C | IRL | 18 | £40K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Steve Feeney | D/DM C | IRL | 25 | £1K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Bradley | D/DM C | IRL | 19 | £5K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Shane Walsh | AM R | IRL | 20 | £190K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Curran | AM R | IRL | 17 | £110K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | James McCarthy | AM R | IRL | 18 | £24K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Campbell | AM RLC | IRL | 27 | £40K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark Kelly | AM LC | IRL | 16 | £40K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan McNevin | AM C | IRL | 30 | £28K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Darragh O'Brien | AM C | IRL | 21 | £5K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Morris | AM C | IRL | 23 | £2K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Peter Rooney | F LC | IRL | 20 | £55K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Keogh | F LC | IRL | 17 | £40K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Foley | F C | IRL | 18 | £8K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Hogan | S C | IRL | 27 | £40K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
My optimism was severely dented by our early season form. Our injury jinx showed no signs of vanishing and I was consistently unable to field my preferred stating eleven. We opened by drawing with Finn Harps and defending champions St. Pat’s Athletic before suffering a terrible 3-0 defeat at home to Bohemians with two players sent off in the closing minute. We scrambled another point at Cork City but in early April we sat bottom of the table and were struggling.

Things started to turn around when we contested the Presidents Cup with St. Pat’s at Tolka Park in Dublin. We totally outplayed the titleholders and won our first ever trophy with an emphatic 6-1 scoreline. Strikers Hogan and Rooney bagged a brace each and substitutes Curran and Keogh both scored in the closing ten minutes to underline our superiority.

retired_amyslack

No Time To Draw Breath
A steady stream of injuries meant that I was unable to send out the same eleven for consecutive games but nonetheless we remained unbeaten for the remainder of a very busy month. In the league we beat Cobh Ramblers and Monaghan United and drew with Shamrock Rovers. We also played two more cup matches, both against Athlone Town as luck would have it, and were victorious in both the League Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup.

Having played eight games in April, May was even busier with no less than nine matches scheduled. By month end we had managed to move into mid-table with three wins, two draws and two defeats in the league. We also progressed from our League Cup group and moved into the Semi Finals of the Leinster Cup. Our continuity continued to be disrupted by injuries however and we also lost Keogh and Walsh who were both selected for the European Under-21 championship finals in Italy.

June began with an excellent 3-0 win at Shelbourne in our best display in the league thus far in the season. By the time of our midweek win over Cobh Ramblers the lads had returned from Italy where the young Irish team had reached the Final, losing 2-0 to Scotland. Despite the World Cup taking place in South Africa the season continued regardless and we secured our 5th straight league victory at home to Cork City to move up to 2nd in a league that remained as competitive as ever. With a fortnight off I was hoping to go into our forthcoming cup matches with the players rested but we lost exciting young forward Keogh with a torn hamstring.

We moved into the Semi Finals of the League Cup with an impressive 4-0 defeat of St. Pat’s to maintain our excellent record against them. With league action now suspended I was glad of our continuing cup involvement and a week later we faced Shelbourne in the Semi Final of the Leinster Cup. We lost a tight contest to a single goal in extra time after a goalless 90 minutes.

Our form in June gained me a rare Manager of the Month award with unheralded midfielder Ian Morris taking the playing plaudits. At the start of July the draw took place for the 1st qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. I had almost forgotten that we would be playing in Europe after finishing second in the league last season. Our opponents would be Sioni Bolnisi of Georgia and we were fortunate enough to play the 1st leg at home.

A few days after watching Brazil beat underdogs Mexico on penalties in the World Cup Final we got our first taste of European football. A few of the lads looked a bit overawed early on but when Hogan opened the scoring after 20 minutes we settled down and started to relax a little. We reached the break still in front and stretched our lead when Rooney scored a few minutes after the restart. The boys were into their stride now and Morris put us three-up with an hour gone. We started to tire later in the game and the visitors scored what could be a valuable away goal with ten minutes remaining. I threw some fresh legs on and to my delight Hogan scored again in stoppage time to give us a very useful 4-1 lead to defend in the 2nd leg.

At the weekend we were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at Shamrock Rovers but remained in second place on goal difference over Shelbourne. Only three points separated the top five so we were still well in touch in the title race. In midweek we crashed out of the League Cup, losing a very tight Semi Final 1-0 at home to Drogheda United. But we bounced back with a comprehensive 6-1 win at home to Monaghan United, a result that saw us top the table ahead of St. Pat’s and Shelbourne on goal difference.

Our final game in July involved a long and arduous trip to Georgia for the 2nd leg of our UEFA Cup tie. A goal on 30 minutes from Campbell put us firmly in the driving seat although the dismissal of centre back Declan O’Leary ten minutes later did give me some cause for concern. However we were able to shut up shop and the 1-0 win on the night gave us a convincing 5-1 aggregate win. The draw for the 2nd Qualifying Round paired us with FK Partizan Beograd of Serbia and Montenegro with the 1st leg to be played away from home.

retired_amyslack

A European Adventure
We started August with a solid 3-0 win at home to Bohemians in the Senior Challenge Cup and followed that up with a 3-1 win at Bray Wanderers in the league. We then had to make the trek to Belgrade for what I expected to be a very tough match against Partizan. The longer the game remained goalless the happier I felt and when we reached halftime still on terms I was starting to get a good feeling about the evening. If anything we probably shaded the second half in terms of chances and came close to grabbing an away goal several times. In the end I was delighted to return with a 0-0 draw and I felt that we had a realistic chance of making further progress in the competition.

A missed penalty at home to Drogheda cost us a win in our next league match as we drew 0-0 but our nearest rivals had also been dropping points and we remained in first place in the Premiership. Our next match also ended all-square, a 1-1 draw at St. Pat’s forcing a replay in the Senior Challenge Cup.

To say that there was a lot of interest in our 2nd leg tie at home to Partizan would be quite an understatement – the whole town was buzzing at the prospect of our unlikely European adventure continuing. A sellout crowd had plenty to cheer about early on as we started very positively and took the lead through Peter Rooney on the half hour. But the visitors were only too aware that if they could even the game then they would go through on away goals and we were put under increasing pressure. They broke our resistance with 20 minutes left to play and with the players tiring I threw on all of my substitutes to try to rescue the game. But a second goal for Partizan three minutes from time killed off our hopes and we were out of the competition. Despite the disappointing defeat I was very pleased with how we had acquitted ourselves in our European debut and we had been far from disgraced.

The month came to a close with our Cup replay against St. Pat’s and, two goals down after 20 minutes, it looked like we would be leaving this competition too. But two goals in two minutes immediately after the restart pulled us level. Neither side could score again in the regulation 90 minutes so a draining period of extra time was called for. We drew first blood but quickly conceded an equaliser. With the players out on their feet the visitors struck again in the second period of extra time and we just couldn’t find a reply. The 4-3 defeat ended our interest in the cup competitions and allowed us to focus on maximising our performance in the league, but it was still disappointing to miss out on a chance of another trophy.

After a series a draining games I decided to rest many of the first eleven for the midweek trip to Derry City at the start of September but I was quite disappointed with the level of performance that their replacements put in as we suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat. The same result a fortnight later at Finn Harps made a serious dent in my hopes of sustaining a title challenge as we slipped six points behind leaders Shelbourne. We took a further blow a few days later as we let a 3-1 lead slip at home to Bohemians to draw 3-3. As well as the dropped points we also lost striker Peter Rooney with a torn calf muscle, an injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

We were running out of fit strikers for the crucial match at home to St. Pat’s, but spurred on by an excellent performance from Morris in central midfield we conjured up a 2-0 win, despite missing a penalty in the first half. Top scorer Hogan came up trumps in our final game of the month at Cork City, scoring both goals in our 2-1 win. With other results going in our favour the league table now had a decidedly interesting look about it with ourselves, St. Pat’s and Shelbourne all tied on 45 points as the title chase turned into a three-horse race.

As we moved into October the Under-18 side won their league for the second time in three seasons, another indication that our youth policy was beginning to pay off. We were participating in the All-Ireland Cup for the first time in the club’s history and for the visit of Ballymena United we had Shane Walsh, Alan Curran and Paul Malone all unavailable because of international commitments. Despite this we pretty much dominated the game and our 1-0 win was a poor reflection of our superiority. A slightly fortunate 1-0 win at Cobh Ramblers kept us in the title hunt with our winner coming minutes after the home side failed to convert a second-half penalty.

We lost a 4-3 thriller at St. Pat’s in our next match in the group stages of the All-Ireland Cup in a game that was notable for the appearance of Keith Keogh from the substitutes bench for his first action since recovering from his early-season injury. Back in league action we had a good 3-2 win at home to Shamrock Rovers but at the end we were hanging on desperately during an extended period of stoppage time. We played again a few days later in a crunch match at home to Shelbourne with star midfielder Morris unavailable due to his inclusion in the League of Ireland XI for their match against their counterparts in the North. With top scorer Hogan suspended we did well to twice come from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw with a late equaliser. We barely had time to draw breath before we were back in the thick of things again as we returned from Monaghan United with a precious 1-0 win.

retired_amyslack

It’s Now Or Never
We entered November with just three league matches left to play and the Premiership title finely balanced. We led the race on 55 points with Shelbourne three points behind. Defending champions St. Pat’s were on 51 but had a game in hand so there was still everything to play for.

I rested virtually the entire first eleven for the cup match at Ballymena and the 1-1 draw meant that we could not hope to go beyond the group stages. Knowing that two more wins in our final three games should be enough for the title I hoped that the sacrifice would be worth it. We just never got going at home to Bray Wanderers and a poor 0-0 draw reduced our lead to just a single point. I fielded a weakened team again for the visit of St. Pat’s in the Cup, telling the lads to go out and give them as hard a 90 minutes as they could. They went out and did just that winning a pulsating game 3-1. Unfortunately we suffered an injury blow at a crucial time when young keeper Kevin Keegan pulled a muscle in his groin and would miss the remainder of the season. The 19 year old had made the number one jersey his own for most of the season, keeping former first choice Alan Ward on the bench.

I was left cursing the Irish FA when international callups added to our injury problems and left me with four of our best players absent for the midweek trip to Drogheda. A nervy match was finally settled in our favour from the penalty spot when substitute Alan O’Brien stayed cool enough to convert the spot kick.

The victory meant that if we could win our final game of the season at home to lowly Derry City then the title would be ours. We had Steve Feeney suspended and young O’Brien injured so we were far from our strongest as the team went out to face its destiny. Roared on by a full house at Buckley Park the lads set about the visitors with enthusiasm and Kevin Hogan gave us an early lead. When he scored again just after the restart things were looking good but Derry pulled a goal back within ten minutes and I started to get nervous again. But when Kevin completed his hat trick on 60 minutes the game was ours.

It took a little time to sink in over the next few days that I had finally achieved my ambition of taking the league title and I found myself checking the league table time and again.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | KILKENNY CITY | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 62 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Shelbourne | 33 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 59 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | St. Pat's Athletic | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 55 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Bohemians | 33 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 54 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Finn Harps | 33 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 49 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Drogheda Utd | 33 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 35 | 36 | -1 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 45 | 51 | -6 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 32 | 36 | -4 | 42 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Cork City | 33 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 37 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Derry City | 33 | 7 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 30 | -4 | 37 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | R | Monaghan Utd | 33 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 36 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Cobh Ramblers | 33 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 20 | 62 | -42 | 11 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Each time I looked it was still the same – Kilkenny had upset the established order by going one better than last season and sealing a historic moment in Irish football. The Under-18s had also done well, securing their 3rd league title in four seasons with the Under-21s finishing as runners-up in their league. It had been another profitable season for the club and we now had a very healthy bank balance indeed. Our midfield once again proved to be the best in the Division and Kevin Hogan’s 21 goals made him our top scorer.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Campbell | 43 (1) | 8 | 13 | 6 | 76% | 2.54 | 1.09 | 34% | 7.91 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ian Morris | 37 (2) | 10 | 13 | 6 | 81% | 1.11 | 0.86 | 44% | 7.85 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Shane Walsh | 32 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 76% | 2.32 | 1.83 | 28% | 7.72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Leahy | 42 | - | - | 2 | 69% | 3.78 | 0.43 | - | 7.57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Peter Rooney | 33 (3) | 15 | 6 | 5 | 84% | 0.54 | 2.01 | 61% | 7.56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Damien Power | 4 | - | 1 | - | 64% | 5.25 | 0.75 | - | 7.50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Hogan | 44 (1) | 21 | 9 | 5 | 82% | 0.68 | 1.75 | 55% | 7.49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Declan O'Leary | 40 | - | 1 | 1 | 70% | 2.70 | 0.05 | - | 7.30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Eric McCormack | 37 | - | 2 | - | 66% | 2.81 | 0.19 | - | 7.30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Nolan | 3 (4) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 88% | 3.16 | 4.03 | 81% | 7.29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kevin Keegan | 45 | - | 1 | - | 55% | - | - | - | 7.29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Steve Feeney | 35 (1) | 1 | 4 | - | 81% | 1.76 | 0.25 | 33% | 7.28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Ward | 7 (1) | - | 1 | - | 53% | - | - | - | 7.25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darragh O'Brien | 12 (23) | 5 | 7 | 2 | 79% | 1.17 | 0.56 | 56% | 7.23 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darren O'Brien | 9 | - | - | 1 | 65% | 3.11 | 0.21 | - | 7.22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Cosgrove | 9 | - | - | - | 70% | 3.32 | 0.21 | - | 7.22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Malone | 32 (2) | - | - | 1 | 74% | 4.00 | 0.21 | - | 7.18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark Kelly | 8 (6) | - | 2 | - | 76% | 1.75 | 2.96 | - | 7.14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Keogh | 8 (16) | 5 | 4 | - | 80% | 0.34 | 2.78 | 52% | 7.08 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Curran | 15 (12) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 75% | 2.64 | 8.19 | 35% | 7.07 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan McNevin | 11 (14) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 81% | 1.46 | 0.40 | 30% | 7.04 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan O'Brien | 27 (2) | 4 | - | - | 75% | 3.68 | 0.36 | 71% | 7.03 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Bradley | 13 (9) | - | - | 1 | 72% | 2.11 | 0.80 | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Steve Barnes | 11 (3) | 1 | 1 | - | 81% | 0.46 | 1.84 | 31% | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Keith Rushe | 6 | - | - | - | 71% | 2.34 | - | - | 6.83 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
All in all we had plenty of reasons to party and the end of season awards served to add fuel to the fire. I was voted Manager of the Season, Stephen Campbell and Ian Morris got a one-two in Player of the Season, Ian and Shane Walsh repeated the feat in the Young Player award, Kevin Hogan was second in the Golden Boot and Paul Leahy, Campbell and Morris were selected in the Team of the Year.

The usual cocktail of champagne, Guinness and Irish whiskey was consumed before, during and after the awards ceremony and once again I found the lovely Viv in my bed the morning after. This time I decided that I couldn’t continue our “relationship”, if that was the right word, any longer and that it was time to put my cards on the table. After several cups of strong tea and a good Irish fry-up, I broached the subject.

“Viv, there’s something that I really need to talk to you about.”

“If it’s about my contract renewal then maybe that should wait until we get back to work after Christmas.”

“It’s nothing to do with work. It’s about us.”

“What do you mean Paddy? There is no us.”

“That’s the problem really. To be totally honest with you Viv, I really want there to be an us and if there can’t be then I don’t think that I can continue to work with you. I’m really confused about how you feel about me – you send out really mixed signals you know. Most of the time you keep me at arm’s length but now and again you let your guard down and we end up waking up together.”

“I knew it, you just want to get into my pants after all!”

“No I don’t! Well, actually I do but not in the way you mean. Viv, I’m really smitten by you but as far as I can tell you don’t feel the same and I can’t see a future for us. I’m seriously considering just jacking it in at Kilkenny and going somewhere else.”

“That would be a great idea.”

Paddy looked crestfallen at Viv’s last remark. He was right – she just wasn’t interested and couldn’t wait to get him out of her life.

“Don’t look so sad Paddy, let me explain. There’s nothing I’d like more than to get to know you better but I can’t allow that to happen as long as we work together. It would be a recipe for disaster if we had a personal relationship whilst you are still my boss – it would all end in tears, I know it would.”

“But if…”

Viv interrupted before Paddy could finish his sentence.

“But if you weren’t my boss anymore then there would be nothing to stop us from having an us, as it were.”

Paddy’s heart leapt. Saying nothing he reached across and picked up the telephone. He quickly dialled a number and when the call was answered he said “Liam, it’s me, Paddy. Just wanted to let you know that I won’t be managing the team next season – I’m resigning for personal reasons, with immediate effect.”

Replacing the phone he took Viv by the hand and pulled her to her feet. “There you go sweetheart, I’m not your boss any more. Now let’s go practice having an us, as it were.”

retired_amyslack

Season Seven – 2010/2011

The Deadly Lurgan

My decision to leave Kilkenny was not quite as impetuous as it might seem. I had been on the cusp of moving on for a season or two anyway and once Viv made her position clear to me it became a very easy decision to take. The next few weeks were spent in a happy daze as Viv and I well and truly worked at “having an us”. Of course things couldn’t continue like that indefinitely – for one thing she would soon be back at work at Kilkenny and for another I needed to secure alternative employment as my salary at Buckley Park had not exactly made me a wealthy man.

But as I soon found out it seems that having steered an unfancied side to the top of the tree in Ireland didn’t cut any mustard elsewhere and I wasn’t exactly inundated with offers of work. I took to following the latest news of managerial openings on the Internet and calling my agent every other day to see if he had heard anything regarding the various positions that I had applied for. However badly my job search was faring, my relationship with Viv was going in the opposite direction and we enjoyed a glorious Christmas and New Year together. In early January she got a phone call from the club to inform her that a new manager had been hired, former Dublin City boss Alan McLouglin. She was summoned to a staff meeting and returned reassured that the new man had no plans to make significant changes to his backroom team at present.

And then towards the end of January I received a call from my agent.

“Hello Tommy, have you got some news for me?”

“Well I have good news and bad news Paddy.”

“Let’s start with the bad news.”

“Well it looks like Glentoran are standing firm behind Roy Coyle. Results are picking up and it looks like he’s going to weather the storm.”

“OK, now for the good news.”

“Lurgan Celtic have lost Kevin Gallacher to Cowdenbeath and they’re interested in talking to you. They’re only a wee club and they’re mid table in the First Division but it could be a stepping stone to the Premiership.”

“Could be. Well tell them I’m interested Tommy and set up a call.”

An initial telephone conversation with Chairman Maurice McEvoy was positive and he asked me to travel to Lurgan for a face-to-face meeting. I asked Viv to come with me with the intention that we could go on and spend a day or two in Belfast, the city being only 30 kilometres to the northwest. As it turned out we had some cause for celebration as my meeting concluded with an immediate job offer. After talking things over with Viv we agreed that the move made sense – Lurgan was not a million miles away from Kilkenny and even though we wouldn’t be together as much as we would have liked we both felt that we could see enough of one another to keep our relationship going. So on February 2nd 2011 I was officially named as the new manager of Lurgan Celtic.

With a population of some 25,000. the town of Lurgan is nicely situated to the south of Lough Neagh in the centre of Northern Ireland. The club is located at Knockramer Park, a tiny 1,500 capacity ground and the training facilities could best be described as basic. Saddled by a mountain of debt there was nothing much in the way of transfer funds so I set to work to take stock of my situation. I had just over a week until my first match in charge and there was much to do.

First things first and that meant taking stock of the backroom staff and the playing squad. The former task didn’t take too long as the bootroom was not exactly full to bursting although for some reason we had two Assistant Managers as well as a coach, a physio and a scout. I had already made it clear that I wanted to bring in my own number two and both of the current Assistants agreed to stay on as coaches. The man I wanted to bring in was Des McAleenan, a recommendation from Gerry Scully, my former right hand man at Kilkenny. I had sounded out Gerry himself but he wanted to stay put for the time being and wasn’t too keen on leaving home to drop down a division.

As far as the players were concerned we had 30 lads on the books and it certainly looked like a young squad. Full back Andy Seaton was a veteran at 33 but after him we had no one older than 27. Over half the squad were still in their teens, including backup keeper 16-year-old Stephen Kelly.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Kelly | GK | NIR | 16 | - | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Neil Wilson | GK | NIR | 20 | £6K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Johnny Chambers | SW/D/DM C | NIR | 18 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Steven Christie | D R | SCO | 19 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Billy Colquhoun | D R | SCO | 19 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Dixon | D R | SCO | 23 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Matthew Parry | D RC | SCO | 21 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Boyle | D L | IRL | 19 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andy Seaton | D L | SCO | 33 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andy Fiske | D C | SCO | 24 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Fitzgerald | D C | IRL | 19 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin Paterson | D C | SCO | 19 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Phil Webb | D C | SCO | 20 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | John McConnell | D/M R | NIR | 18 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Allison | DM C | NIR | 18 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Costello | M R | NIR | 23 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Colin McLean | M R | SCO | 19 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Connolly | M L | IRL | 17 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Chris Hall | M L | ENG | 27 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Seán Lavery | M C | NIR | 27 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Reilly | M C | SCO | 21 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Fraser | AM R | SCO | 19 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jimmy Jack | AM RC | SCO | 17 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Chris Trainor | F C | NIR | 27 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Chris Campbell | S C | NIR | 19 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Maginness | S C | NIR | 24 | £10K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Donal McCourt | S C | NIR | 25 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Conor Mullan | S C | NIR | 18 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mark Walsh | S C | NIR | 18 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Wilson | S C | NIR | 17 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
When I took over the team lay 7th out of the 12 teams in the First Division, ten points behind leaders H&W Welders. There were just seven games left to play and promotion looked unachievable but relegation was still a possibility as we were just 6 points outside the drop zone.

My opening match in charge featured a visit from bottom club Knockbreda and, on paper at least, provided as gentle an introduction as you could wish for. I made my team selection based on the evidence of a few training sessions combined with advice from the coaching staff. Despite conceding an early goal we were able to fight back for the win although the 3-1 scoreline slightly flattered us.

It was pretty clear that some strengthening of the squad was required but with the club’s perilous financial position there would have to be a clearout first so I set about looking at our highest wage earners. But with little interest being shown it was soon time for our next match, a trip to non-league Ballinamallard United in the 6th round of the Irish Cup. In spite of a penalty miss we ran out comfortable 5-1 winners and went into the draw for the Quarter Finals where we were drawn against Glentoran. Our final game of the month saw us return from the trip to Moyola Park with a hard fought 2-2 draw, a great result considering that we managed to get two players sent off!

March started badly with a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Lisburn Rangers. Our big cup match followed a week later and a packed house saw us put up quite a fight against Glentoran. We took an early lead but were undone when the visitors scored three times in a ten-minute spell before the break. But our heads didn’t drop and we kept battling away, pulling a goal back late in the game for a gallant 3-2 defeat. Boosted by the performance we won our next two league games, 1-0 at Institute and 2-0 at home to Ballymoney United to end the month in 5th place. It was clear that there was little gulf in quality between the bottom and the top of the league as a mere 11 points separated 1st and 11th.

Our final two games of the season saw us lose 2-0 at H&W Welders and then beat Larne 3-1 at home for a final 5th place finish. There were few players who had particularly impressed – right back Stephen Dixon looked solid and striker Stephen Maginness had an eye for goal and finished as top scorer. It was clear that I could safely trim the squad and the wage bill without losing a diamond in the rough. However, I obviously had my work cut out if I was going to improve the overall standard.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Donegal Celtic | 22 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 36 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | H & W Welders | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 34 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Bangor | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Moyola Park | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | LURGAN CELTIC | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 30 | 28 | +2 | 31 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Lisburn Rangers | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 30 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | QUB | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 28 | 26 | +2 | 29 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Larne | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 28 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Institute | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 27 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Banbridge | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 28 | -3 | 26 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | R | Ballymoney Utd | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 22 | 27 | -5 | 25 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Knockbreda | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 32 | -10 | 19 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
I had mixed feelings about my forthcoming summer break. On the one hand I couldn’t wait to go back home and spend some quality time with Viv but on the other I was keen to try to bring some new blood into the team. I was also worried about the situation at my previous club – by the end of April they had managed just a single win and were rooted to the bottom of the table. Testament to my own managerial skills perhaps but sad to see nonetheless.

retired_jgirl87

Congratulations on the title with Kilkenny and your completion of stage one of the challenge. :thup:

C'mon the Lurgan. \o/

retired_rblake

It was a long time coming but Congratulations on winning the title and Good Luck with Lurgan Celtic!!

retired_amyslack

Thanks chaps, glad you are still reading along

Season Eight – 2011/2012

Scrimping and Saving

I spent as much time as I could with Viv back in Kilkenny over the summer but I was also keen to improve the fortunes of my new club. I pruned the squad drastically with virtually every player who was out of contract being allowed to leave. With our four loan players also departing we ended up with just a dozen players on the books but with our wage bill cut by two thirds. My next major task was to try to rebuild and strengthen the squad and to my surprise that proved to be easier than I had expected. Not that I signed any world-beaters but it certainly was a sight easier than in my early years at Kilkenny.

The league season in the north doesn’t get underway until October but in August we have the Intermediate Cup to look forward to and by the time of our opening group match I had been able to bring in an additional nine players on a mixture of loan deals and permanent signings. The mountain of debt carried by the club meant that I was restricted to one-year deals on low wages but such is the reality of life in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. The pick of the bunch was probably former Welsh U21 player Gareth Jelleyman but an injury just after his arrival meant that he missed all of our pre-season games so I had no chance to assess his performance.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Walton | GK | ENG | 24 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Neil Wilson | GK | NIR | 21 | £6K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Dixon | D R | SCO | 23 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kerrea Gilbert | D R | ENG | 24 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Hunter | D R | NIR | 24 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin Paterson | D C | SCO | 20 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Matt Price | D C | SCO | 20 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Phil Webb | D C | SCO | 21 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Matthew Pitts | D/DM RL | ENG | 30 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gareth Jelleyman | D/DM L | WAL | 30 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Allison | DM C | NIR | 18 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darren Johnston | DM C | SCO | 21 | £4K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Tony Shields | DM C | IRL | 31 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Costello | M R | NIR | 23 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Connolly | M L | IRL | 18 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Young | M C | SCO | 22 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Fraser | AM R | SCO | 20 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jimmy Jack | AM RC | SCO | 18 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Sean Kilgannon | AM L | SCO | 30 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Adam Smith | F RLC | ENG | 26 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Flanagan | S C | IRL | 22 | - | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Maginness | S C | NIR | 25 | £10K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Wayne Mason | S C | ENG | 17 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Donal McCourt | S C | NIR | 26 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Our first seven competitive games of the season were in cup competitions. We topped our group in the Intermediate Cup, three wins and two draws taking us into the Semi Finals. We also won our first game in the Steel & Sons Cup, beating Moyola Park on penalties but in the next round we went out with a 1-0 defeat at Limavady United. A steady stream of injuries had disrupted my plans to keep a stable starting eleven but one defeat in seven games was a reasonable start to the season.

I was pleasantly surprised when the bookmakers made us evens-favourites for the title alongside Armagh. This was somewhat at odds with my Chairman’s stated ambition of avoiding relegation. Our league campaign started well in October and we won our first three games. We came from behind to beat QUB 4-1, came out on top by the odd goal in five at home to Bangor and had a narrow 1-0 win at Armagh in a real end to end tussle. We even found time to dispose of Portstewart 2-1 to reach the final of the Intermediate Cup.

In November I celebrated just my second success in a cup competition as we proudly lifted the Intermediate Cup. The final against QUB was a dull as dishwater for 80 minutes. At that point we conceded a goal and that seemed to wake us up. We equalised within two minutes to force extra time and midfielder Andrew Young scored a hat trick to seal the win. In the league we drew 0-0 at home to Chimney Corner, won 2-0 at Lisburn Rangers and beat Moyola Park 2-0. Unbeaten in six games we topped the table and were giving every indication of living up to the favourites tag given us by the bookies.

Back at Kilkenny things were not so rosy – sadly they team finished bottom of the Premiership and were relegated. But with the season there done at least Viv was able to come and join me for a few months, a prospect that I found myself longing for. With Viv safely ensconced in my small apartment and already starting preparations for our second Christmas together I turned my attention back to the team. A busy December came and went and by the turn of the year we had lost our unbeaten record thanks to a poor 3-0 defeat at H&W Welders and had lost our place at the top of the table on goal difference to Larne. We did make progress in the Irish Cup after a 4-0 win at Killyleagh took us into the 5th round. Injury problems continued to disrupt the team, the most serious of which saw loan signing Adam Smith return to DCU for rehab after a nasty hip injury.

retired_amyslack

Keep Going Lads

The New Year didn’t get off to the best of starts as we let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at Institute. We then managed to grind out a 1-0 win at home to QUB before picking up a point in a 3-3 thriller at Bangor. The home side took the lead early in the first half but we quickly equalised. We went a goal up on the hour and a thrilling finish saw the home side score twice in three minutes before we snatched another equaliser with five minutes remaining. We scored another late goal to beat Armagh 1-0 before ending the month with a disappointing 1-0 loss at Chimney Corner. We made further progress in the Irish Cup when the second eleven managed to get a 2-1 win at Dromara. We led 1-0 as the match entered stoppage time and then the home side equalised before we scored an even later winner.

We had a couple of new faces appear during the January transfer window, both free signings and both midfielders. First through the door was Robbie White from Cliftonville, quickly followed by the experienced Sean Fox from Donegal Celtic. The title race was now a real scrap between ourselves, who topped the table, Larne, a point behind us, and Dundela, a further point behind and the form team of the division.

We played just three matches in February but during that time we lost three key players to injury. Both of our first choice full backs, Jellyman and Gilbert, along with top scorer Flanagan, were put out of action for several weeks each. All three would be missed but Gilbert’s injury was a real blow as the former Arsenal youth player had been magnificent for us. Results-wise the month could best be described as mixed – in the league we lost 2-1 at home to Lisburn Rangers but then won 2-0 at Larne in a crucial game. We put in a battling performance at Premiership side Crusaders in the Irish Cup but were beaten 3-1 to exit the competition.

By March Viv was long gone, having returned to Kilkenny to begin her pre-season work schedule. Although I missed her terribly it did at least mean that I could remain fully focussed on our push for the title and promotion to the Premier League. The month opened with a 0-0 draw at Moyola Park during which we failed to force their keeper into a single save. The next weekend saw an improvement as we beat Banbridge 2-0 but our problems in front of goal continued – we hit the bar four times, twice from open play and twice from the penalty spot! With other results going our way we now had a four-point cushion at the top of the table with three games left to play.

Gilbert, Jellyman and Flanagan were all fit enough to return to the starting eleven for the visit of H&W Welders, a tribute to my small band of physios. A pretty flat game was decided in the visitor’s favour with a late penalty to condemn us to a disappointing 1-0 defeat. However, my spirits were lifted by news that both Dundela and Larne had also been defeated so we remained no worse off as far as promotion was concerned.

The first signs of Spring were in the air as we made the trip to title rivals Dundela for a classic 6-pointer. A win or a draw would seal the title and promotion whilst a defeat would keep the race very much alive. The match had been given a great deal of hype in the local press after some rather inflammatory remarks attributed to our rival’s manager. I asked the lads to do my talking for me out on the pitch and they obliged by coming back from a goal down to force a 1-1 draw that was good enough for the First Division title. Viv hadn’t been able to come to the game as Kilkenny were playing on the same day but she had clearly been keeping in touch as she was one of the first to text me a message of congratulations.

The season ended with a whimper – a poor 0-0 draw at home to Institute that included a missed penalty late in the game. The point allowed our opponents to escape the drop by the narrowest of margins so the gods truly were smiling on them that afternoon. Larne also enjoyed good fortune as a final-day defeat for Dundela allowed them to snatch the single playoff place and they came through their two-legged match with Donegal Celtic victorious.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | LURGAN CELTIC | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 38 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Larne | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 34 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Dundela | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 33 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Bangor | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Armagh | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 28 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | QUB | 22 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 28 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Chimney Corner | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 28 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | H & W Welders | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 27 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Banbridge | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 25 | -3 | 27 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Institute | 22 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 29 | -10 | 21 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | R | Lisburn Rangers | 22 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 21 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Moyola Park | 22 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 26 | -13 | 21 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Viv was able to join me for the end of season awards and we celebrated my Manager of the Year honour with some style. Kerrea Gilbert also enjoyed the evening after finishing runner up for Player of the Season, just reward from our best performer in the squad.

Despite our unprecedented success on the pitch the financial situation at the club was getting worse month by month. At almost £650K in the red the entire future of Lurgan Celtic was in the balance and I was far from certain what would happen over the summer. But I put all of that to one side for the moment and returned to Kilkenny with Viv to enjoy the pleasure of her company for as long as I could.

retired_amyslack

Season Nine – 2012/2013

A Hand To Mouth Existence

My holiday back in Kilkenny was all too soon over and I reluctantly hugged Viv goodbye and headed back to Lurgan to begin preparations for our debut season in the Premier League. The Board had managed to mollify the bank (god knows how!) and I was given permission to bring in some new players to strengthen the squad in our bid to avoid relegation. Several players left at the end of their contracts and I managed to sign half a dozen free agents and bring in three players on season-long loan deals. We even had a couple of local lads graduate from the Youth setup so by the time we began competitive action we had a fair number of new faces.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Alan Walton | GK | ENG | 25 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Neil Wilson | GK | NIR | 22 | £12K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Wilson | SW/D RC | NIR | 23 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Dixon | D R | SCO | 24 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kerrea Gilbert | D R | ENG | 25 | £3K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Hunter | D R | NIR | 25 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Martin Paterson | D C | SCO | 21 | £5K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Matt Price | D C | SCO | 21 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | John Smyth | D C | NIR | 22 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Phil Webb | D C | SCO | 22 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Matthew Pitts | D/DM RL | ENG | 31 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Moore | D/DM RC | IRL | 18 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Gareth Jelleyman | D/DM L | WAL | 31 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Allison | DM C | NIR | 19 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Tony Shields | DM C | IRL | 32 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Sean Fox | M RC | NIR | 32 | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Joe McGrath | M LC | IRL | 22 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrew Young | M C | SCO | 23 | £6K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jimmy Jack | AM RC | SCO | 19 | £5K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Robbie White | AM C | NIR | 26 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Maginness | S C | NIR | 26 | £22K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Donal McCourt | S C | NIR | 27 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Piper | S C | IRL | 19 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Potter | S C | IRL | 23 | £2K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| | Brian Rea | S C | NIR | 23 | £1K | | ------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
After a few warm-up matches the season began with the group stages of the League Cup in mid-August. We were drawn in Group 1 alongside Distillery, Loughgall and Linfield with our opener at home to the Belfast giants and defending Premier League champions. We acquitted ourselves well in the opening period and despite falling behind on the half hour we came back to equalise before half time. There was no further scoring and a healthy crowd enjoyed a pretty decent result against top quality opposition.

To say that our remaining group matches surprised me would be quite an understatement! We beat Loughgall home and away and had an excellent 2-0 win at Distillery with both goals coming in the last two minutes. We lost the return at home but then went on to record a very impressive 2-0 win at Linfield to eliminate then and take our place in the Quarter Finals.

As luck would have it we began our league campaign with a trip to the defending champions, our 3rd meeting in a month. By the end of the game I was pinching myself in disbelief as we kept up our fantastic record against the title favourites by coming from a goal down to win 2-1. Our Cup run was ended by Portadown who held their nerve to win a tense penalty shootout after the tie ended goalless. Their keeper Stuart Goodman was the hero, saving three of our spot kicks as well as making another penalty save in extra time. Our final game in September gave us our second league win as we returned from Carrick with a 1-0 victory. As the only team in the division with a 100% record we sat proudly atop the Premiership table thanks to top scorer David Potter, a loan signing from Derry City who had scored 7 goals in 9 games.

I continued to check if I was dreaming during October as we kept up our run of wins. A 2-0 win at home to Distillery was followed by an extremely satisfying 3-0 win at neighbours and local rivals Glenavon. The bubble finally burst at the end of the month when we lost 1-0 at home to Portadown, although we still maintained our place at the top of the Premiership. Fellow new boys Larne were also doing well and their nine points saw them holding 3rd place as we entered November.

Our very own goal machine got us back on track, Potter scoring a hat trick as we beat Cliftonville 3-0 at the start of the month. Another win followed in midweek with midfielder Andrew Young the driving force behind our 2-0 success at Crusaders. Our star men were to the fore once more as we overcame Dungannon 4-1 with three goals in the final ten minutes. Having made such a dramatic start to life in the Premier League many observers were predicting that it was a flash in the pan and that we would crash and burn sooner rather than later. Privately I was of the same opinion and I was as astonished as everyone else at our early-season form. A 1-0 defeat at Omagh at the end of the month seemed to signal that the doomsayers were correct.

But it was not to be the first sign of a collapse – at least not for the moment as we bounced back with a 2-0 win at home to Ballymena United. Then my worst fear materialised – an injury to start striker Potter! He suffered a groin strain in training with a recovery time of some four weeks being predicted. We were also without midfield enforcer Tony Shields for the trip to Coleraine but still managed to return with a 2-0 win, this in spite of losing striker Maginness to injury early in the match. For some reason we were then hit with a spate of injuries and a further three players were consigned to the treatment room. This left us short of a substitute striker for the visit of Loughgall and within 30 minutes of the kick off we had two more players hurt. But somehow the team made light of all of this and secured a terrific three-goal win. Title favourites and nearest challengers Linfield were dropping points and we now found ourselves seven points clear of the field.

Back at Kilkenny the news from Viv was that the team had made a late push and made it into the final promotion playoff place. They were unlucky to lose on penalties to Galway United after the tie ended all square on aggregate. With the season now finished in the Republic, Viv joined me in Lurgan and was on hand to give moral support and some unofficial physiotherapy to our crocked players.

Our injuries began to hit home when we lost 2-0 in midweek at Larne and had striker Brian Rea hurt in the process. With midfielder Jimmy Jack joining the walking wounded after a training ground injury we were forced to re-shuffle yet again for the visit of Glentoran. With Christmas fast approaching the fixture list was particularly busy and I was concerned that our injury-ravaged squad would fold under the pressure. We battled out a 0-0 draw with the visitors, a result that I was very happy with in the circumstances. With the games coming thick and fast I was delighted to get a 2-1 win at home to Ballyclare after falling a goal behind but by the time Carrick visited at the end of the month I had four more players in the treatment room - Jellyman, Dixon, Maginness and Shields. A scrappy goalless draw meant two points dropped but results elsewhere were generally favourable. Linfield had hit a terrible run of form and were dropping like a stone and it was now Glentoran that were leading the chasing pack.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | LURGAN CELTIC | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 7 | +19 | 35 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Glentoran | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 30 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Carrick | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 27 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Portadown | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 27 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Omagh | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 27 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Linfield | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 26 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Dungannon | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 23 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Glenavon | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 21 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Larne | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 20 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Cliftonville | 16 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 20 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Loughgall | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 19 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Ballyclare | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 17 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Ballymena Utd | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 16 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Coleraine | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 14 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Crusaders | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 13 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Distillery | 16 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 26 | -15 | 10 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>