Assessing Athlone Town manager Keith Long

Keith Long inherited a bad situation at Athlone Town, who host Longford Town in the second round of the FAI Ford Cup at Athlone Town Stadium today.

Predecessor Mick Cooke stepped down as manager after a run of 10 straight defeats from the start of the Airtricity League Premier Division campaign.

His final game in charge was the 4-0 reverse against St Patrick's Athletic at Richmond Park on Friday 25 April.

Long’s first in charge was the 0-0 draw against Bray Wanderers at Athlone Town Stadium on Friday 2 May.

So how has Long, who is preparing for his first Midlands ‘El Clasico’, fared since stepping into Cooke’s shoes?

A lot better.

For comparative purposes and based on league games only, we will use the average time of first goals scored and conceded under both Cooke and Long at Athlone Town Stadium, as that is where their game with Longford is being played.

Under Cooke, the average time of the first goal scored by Athlone at Athlone Town Stadium was 81.75 minutes. Under Long, it is 77 minutes.

Under Cooke, the average time of the first goal conceded by Athlone at Athlone Town Stadium was 47.5 minutes. Under Long, it is 70 minutes.

In each instance, there has been an improvement under Long.

In particular, there has been a noticeable slowing in the opposition’s average first goal time.

Incidentally, that is also the case for away games. Under Cooke, the average time of the first goal conceded by Athlone on their travels was 26.83 minutes. Under Long, it is 62 minutes.

Scoring goals, though, remains a problem.

Under Long, Athlone have yet to net in the opening period of a match.

Perhaps that will change against Longford.