"Ian Foster lost the dressing room"
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Midfielder O’Brien says club must move on as
McGee and French become early front-runners
BY KEITH KELLY
As the dust settles on the sudden departure of Ian Foster as manager of Galway United on Friday, it is emerging that things were not as rosy as many believed during his short tenure at the club. Foster is being lauded by the majority of United fans for steering the club clear of relegation in the season just ended with a young and inexperienced squad and an almost non-existent budget, but while it appears he will be missed by the majority on the terraces, it seems the dressing room is a different matter. United players confirmed yesterday to Sentinel Sport that relations between Foster and his squad were fractious for a large part of the season, with one player claiming the manager had “lost the dressingroom” during the Summer, a claim backed up by another player.
Foster is believed to have had heated arguments at different times with a number of the more senior players in the squad, and while the players contacted yesterday did not want to go into detail, it is believed that Foster’s tactics were one of the main causes of friction between him and the players. “There were massive arguments with what I would call certain key players, and yes, I think it is fair to say he did lose the dressingroom during the season. That said, he did keep us up, so you have to hand it to him, but relations weren’t good with him,” said one player yesterday.
Another player confirmed the allegations about serious arguments, but said that “what’s done is done, we’re not going to dwell on it, and we have to look to the future and get the right manager in at the club”. One player who did speak on the record was Derek O’Brien, and he said that while he was surprised that Foster left the club, he thinks it was the wrong decision. “United took a chance on him, he came here as a physio, he wasn’t an assistant manager, he was Jeff Kenna’s friend. He became an assistant to Jeff, and then got the manager’s job, United gave him his chance and I think he owed it to the club to at least see out his contract,” O’Brien said.
When asked what impact Foster’s departure would have on the club, O’Brien preferred to focus on the positives, saying the club moved on following the departure of Kenna, and would do so again. “It will be difficult in terms of continuity, and in a way he will be missed – he got the results and it is all about results, so there is that. That said, we moved on without Jeff, and we’ll do the same after Ian,” he said.
O’Brien said Foster’s departure would not mean a lot to players in terms of contracts – all of United’s players from the 2009 season are out of contract – as he said that while players have to wait for a new manager to be appointed before contract negotiations can open with any of them, it would have been the same if Foster was still in place. “If he was still here, we’d be waiting until the new year anyway until a budget was sorted out and we were approached with contracts, so in that sense it doesn’t make much difference,” said O’Brien.
The majority of the players Sentinel Sport spoke to said their preference for manager would be someone based in Galway as they would know the workings at United, as well as being aware of the talent out there on the local junior scene. One person who is flagging his credentials in this area is United legend and former Irish international Paul ‘Ski’ McGee, one of the two people who confirmed their interest in the job when contacted by Sentinel Sport yesterday.
McGee – who had a spell as player/manager of the club from August 1989 to April 1990 and is United’s all-time top scorer with 97 goals (74 in the league, 18 in the League Cup, one in both the UEFA Cup and FAI Cup, and three in the now defunct First Division Shield) – said his role in the FAI U21 win with Salthill Devon a couple of seasons ago is proof of his established links with the local soccer scene. “If Galway United want a winner, they should look my way. Of course I would be interested in the job at United, as they are a Premier Division club looking to go in the right direction.
“I am living locally and I am very proud of what I achieved as a player with United, as well as a manager [in 1989/90 when United finished eighth in the 12-team Premier Division, a comfortable 11 points clear of relegation]. I have the experience having managed Limerick, as well as United, and as assistant at Cork City. I haven’t been approached, but I will be applying for the job,” said McGee, who won 16 caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring four goals in that time. Another confirmed applicant for the position is Tom French, who was Foster’s assistant in the 2009 season. French is believed to be very popular in the United dressing room, and sees the job as manager as a natural progression in his career.
“I joined the club as trainer [under Tony Cousins] and was assistant manager last year, so I think it is a natural progression for me. If I wasn’t to apply, I would see it as a desire not to move on, and that is not the case, so yes, I will be putting my name forward,” he said. McGee and French were two of a number of potential candidates contacted by Sentinel Sport yesterday, and they were very much the exception to the rule as the majority of the rest all ruled themselves out of the equation.
Former managers Stephen Lally and Jim Noone said they had no interest in returning to the post, while Mervue United manager Johnny Glynn and his assistant Mark Herrick – both highly regarded former players who guided Mervue through their first season as a League of Ireland outfit – also ruled themselves out of a run for the United job.
“I am in discussions with Mervue United about next season, about the need to strengthen the squad and questioning what we have learned from this season. The club needs to look at the long term, it lost a lot of money this year despite the fact not one player got paid, so there is a lot to think about and work on,” he said. Glynn and Herrick both comfortably fit into the ‘legend’ bracket when it comes to United, as does Derek Rogers, but he has also ruled himself out of the running, preferring instead to concentrate on his work with NUI Galway’s football set-up. Efforts to contact Billy Clery – who stepped in as caretaker for four games between the sacking of Tony Cousins and the appointment of Jeff Kenna in April 2008 – were unsuccessful.
Attempts were also made to contact another former United manager, Tony Mannion, but he was travelling to Holland as part of his job with the FAI as a Coach Educator, which involves delivering coaching courses for aspiring coaches and managers.
Given his position with the FAI, he would be prohibited from commenting on the vacancy at United, but it is thought he would be reluctant to return for what would be a fourth spell as United manager, having served in the role from September 1985 to April 1988; January 1992 to November 1995, and from October 2001 to January 2005. One ‘outside’ name that is popping up is Mike Kerley, the former manager of Limerick. United advertised the position last night, with a deadline of Monday December 21, after which suitable candidates will be interviewed, with an appointment to be made in early 2010.
