Quoteseems as though jimmy has got the job
from the sunday people today
ELDER statesman Jimmy McGeough will be unveiled as Larne’s new manager tomorrow.
The Derry City and Waterford United legend agreed terms with the east Antrim club last night and is expected to appoint Alan Campbell as his assistant.
The appointment will mark McGeough’s return to Irish League football for the first time since he departed Derry City in 1966 to be part of the great Waterford side of that era.
He reunites with Campbell, whom he formed a friendship with while playing in the United States during the ‘soccer boom’ there in the late ’70s.
McGeough, who recently turned 60, was controversially sacked by Waterford United at the end of last season, having gained promotion to the Premier League and keeping the Munster club there.
It was alleged that a fallout with the chairman, Ger O’Brien, stemmed from McGeough’s decision to drop Kevin O’Brien from his starting line-up.
“I’m excited about the challenge that lies ahead for Larne and for me,” said McGeough.
“It’s new territory but football is football no matter where it’s played. I had no fear taking on Waterford after 23 years away from the game in the Republic of Ireland.”
McGeough, who was recently linked with Derry City, has done his homework on Larne and accepts the task ahead will be a demanding one.
“Staying in the Premier League is the priority. But I won’t settle for a mindset that is willing to accept one place above the relegation zone.
“I expect ambition. I expect players to aspire to play for Larne, to play in the Premier League but also to believe that they can go further and earn a living as professionals.
“Any player I find lacking a love for his shirt and a desire to win will be out the door. We have got to be close and trust one another, and we’ve got to share the same aims and dreams.
“I appreciate Larne is not a fashionable club and isn’t a rich one, so we all have a job to make it attractive to players and fans.
“It’s best to be realistic about where we are and where we want to be, then get stuck in to achieving our aims.”
A member of the only Derry City team ever to win the Irish League, McGeough quit American soccer after franchise club Tampa Bay Mutiny was closed down by the MLS.
An assistant manager at the Florida club which boasted Colombian legend Valderamma on its roster, Belfast-born man McGeough also managed Long Island Rough Riders, a feeder team to the New York/New Jersey Metro Stars.
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