Connor new Rovers boss

from aertel

Sligo Rovers have tonight unveiled 37-year-old Sean Connor as the new manager of their first team.

Connor, who is from Belfast, played for Port Vale among other club, before he eventually decided to go into coaching.

He takes over as Sligo manager from Mickey Feeney who took on the job after Don O'Riordan parted company with the club in June. Feeney will stay on as assistant manager.

The club has also announced details of a link up with Premiership outfit Birmingham City. As part of the arrangement there will be close ties between the youth development structures at both clubs.

Filed by Rob Wright

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Originally Posted by gustavo

The club has also announced details of a link up with Premiership outfit Birmingham City. As part of the arrangement there will be close ties between the youth development structures at both clubs.

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Shít ...... Dont like hearing that !! What is the rest of the arrangement .... how much money will you get out of it, what do you stand to benefit from this. More often than not the smaller club suffers as a result in these link up deals.

its all a bit fishy cos apparently he used to be birminghams director of marketing or something similar

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Originally Posted by gustavo

its all a bit fishy cos apparently he used to be birminghams director of marketing or something similar

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Dont know how you are fixed up there but if there a enough people getting involved then he/ye might be able to raise the profile of the club a bit and flog a few extra shirts there. Rovers shirts that is ..... Not Birminghams.

Where has he just come from ... straight from Birmingham ? if not ... when was he last there.

I'd be getting kinda wrestless to be honest when the guy comes over trying to get a link established between the two clubs. Is that what swung the decision for him ? How good a manager/motivator is he.

Sligo announce new boss

It has been reported this evening that Sligo Rovers have appointed Sean Connor as their new manager. He takes over from Don O'Riordan who left the club in June.
Steve Feeney had been in charge of the club since and he will remain at the Showgrounds as Connor's assistant.

A report by RTE also indicates that the first divison club have embarked on a link-up with English Premiership side Birmingham City.


Read more at www.irishfootballonline.com

press conference report from sligorovers.com


Sligo Rovers are pleased to announce that Sean Connor, is to take over from care-taker manager Mickey Feeney. A native of Belfast, the new Bit O’Red boss has an impressive track record that includes coaching posts in England and in the USA, front-line commercial experience with Birmingham City, as well as a broad CV of playing experience both in Ireland and England.

As well as a series of coaching qualifications - Sean is currently in the process of attaining a UEFA Pro-licence, the new manager has an extensive contacts at all levels in the game and it is hoped that these will be tapped to both strengthen the senior squad and to enhance the youth structures already at the club.

Mickey Feeney will remain at the club as Connor’s assistant and will also head up the Youth Academy.

Speaking at tonight’s press conference, club Chairman, Michael Toolan expressed the clubs’ determination to return to the top flight and in announcing Connor as manager, he noted that this was “a significant step in realising this objective.”

The Chairman added that “The new manager will have ample time to assess his squad of player and to determine what improvement will have to be introduced for the 2005 season,”

”The club does not believe in quick fixes and we have given the new manager the responsibility for nurturing and developing our youth programme, to ensure the major advances made by the club in this area are progressed further.”

Toolan in advising that Mickey Feeney, the outgoing care-taker manager, has agreed to stay on to head up the youth structure, lauded the popular Sligo-man on the fantastic job that he has done at Rovers.

An exciting part of Feeney’s new responsibilities, will be his involvement in progressing links between Rovers Youth structures and those of Birmingham City in the Premiership. The Chairman did not dwell on this new initiative, other than to say that the links have been forged and will be progressed in the coming months.

Michael Toolan concluded by thanking supporters and sponsors present and by urging all associated with the club to get behind the new manager and the team.

Taking the microphone Sean Connor said that he was looking forward to the challenge of the task in hand. From his own career perspective he regards it as a stepping stone, but in order to take those steps, he needs to deliver at with Rovers and he shares the vision in terms of the kind of success that the Chairman spoke of.

In relation to existing playing staff Connor said that it “is important to give the existing squad a clean slate – everyone will get a chance, starting tomorrow night at the first training session.”

“I want players who want to play not only in the Premier Division here, but also in England. If players have that attitude, then they are likely to be successful,” he added.

Mickey Feeney will be picking the team for the game on Saturday night, but it will give the new boss a chance to see his team at close range. He did see the Bit O’Red against Bray and was pleasantly surprised that despite their league position, there was very little between the teams.

It was said that Rovers were unlucky in Bray. This he acknowledged, but he emphasised that you make your own luck with hard work and effort. By the sounds of things, this could be the catch-call for the coming weeks.

Sean Connor's first game in charge will be against Athlone Town on Saturday night at 7.30pm in The Showgrounds


bit of a negative attitude there towards ireland but ill let it go seeing he is new :)

I know nothing of this guy to be honest. I thought I would've been a better idea to wait til the end of the season and pick up one the out of work managers from the Premier who know the league. Someone like Liam Buckley would've been good as he's a former Rovers player.

I don't like the sound of this link up thing. It seems to me that they never bring the promised benefits. You just have to look at Home Farm and Everton. What've Cork ever got out of Leicester? Or Shelbourne from Man Utd?

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Originally Posted by Rocky

What've Cork ever got out of Leicester?

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Nothing .... Mayfield, another club here got more out of that deal than we did. That about sums up the value of that link up, that and the loss of Delaney, who played just a half season in the first team. Colin Murphy, may to rot in hell.