Keely unhappy with Roddy “mess”
November 9, 2004
Dublin City caretaker manager Dermot Keely has put the boot into the club’s former boss Roddy Collins for the state in which he left the Vikings following the decision to jump ship and take over at Shamrock Rovers last week.
Keely was placed in temporary charge ahead of last Thursday night’s clash with Drogheda United after the sudden decision of Collins to walk out on the Vikings for the job as Hoops boss.
But the experienced manager, a veteran of spells at the helm of Shelbourne, Dundalk and Derry City, is adamant that Roddy is could not be more wrong when he says he left the club in better shape than when John Gill stepped down in the summer – with the uncertainty surrounding the raft of English-based players one of the principal debilitating factors for Dublin City.
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In his Irish Sun column, Keely wrote: “I have inherited a real mess at the club. Roddy brought in seven English players, and five are still there. Two of them – Keith Rowland and Grant Cooper – fly in and out which is not ideal. The other three, Adam Rundle, Scott Friel and Ronnie Henry, are based in Dublin but were given permission to return to England last weekend.
“Yes, that is right. Roddy told them they were free to return home when we have a must-win game against Longford Town. Had I known, I would have stopped them.
“It is also the case the loyalty of those five players lies with Roddy ... Who knows, they may have expectations – or maybe they have even heard – that Roddy would take them to Rovers? So is it really in their interest to fight to the death for Dublin City?
“And it is not as though I can drop them because Roddy got rid of so many players when he took over that the squad is positively threadbare. When I looked at my bench last Thursday, I thought I was in charge of Home Farm’s under-17 side.”
Keely and Dublin City put their Premier Division scalps on the line tonight (Tuesday) when they take on Longford Town at Flancare Park in the knowledge that anything less than three points will finalize their relegation from the top flight.
