The Alan Mathews Interview
Credit:
As a player Alan Mathews was capped by Ireland at U-15 & U-18 levels. He enjoyed a long playing career which included a short stint with Drogheda (under Ray Treacy) in the 1981-82 season and won two League medals with Shamrock Rovers in 1986 & 1987. In management he first started out as assistant to Dermot Keely at Home Farm and later with Shelbourne. In 2002 he was appointed as manager of Longford Town and guided the midlanders to their first ever senior trophy when they won the FAI Cup at Lansdowne Road in 2003 when he was also voted Personality of the Year by the SWAI. The following year saw Longford win a unique double as they retained the FAI Cup and also win the League Cup. In 2008 Cork City appointed Mathews as their new manager on a three year contract. Despite losing several key players in the examinership process, the club went on to win their first Setanta Sports Cup trophy. Amazingly weeks later new Cork City owner, Tom Coughlan, was to sack Mathews and attempt to appoint the well known GAA manager, Billy Morgan! What was Cork City's loss was no doubt Drogheda United's gain when Alan Mathews was installed as the new Drogs' manager in February this year. Six months into his new job I caught up with the boss soon after the 1-1 draw with Bohs.
PH You must be really frustrated with the way the referee allowed so much extra time with Bohemians scoring an equaliser well over the 3 minutes extra time and this for the second time this season against the same opposition?
AM. Our players had performed brilliantly the whole way through the game and had won the game within the official 93 minutes. We had withstood a barrage of attacks and had seen the game through. After the forty sixth minute he added on an extra three minutes of injury time . It just appeared to me that he was waiting and waiting for Bohs to score. Where he got the time from I don't know. For the four corners the referee gave in the last few minutes at least two of them were goal-kicks. You are looking for consistency from referees. It was a very poor performance from him to say the least .
So many of the fans are delighted to see the Drogheda players play with such fantastic team spirit. They show tremendous determination and work really hard for each other.
I've a good belief in the players that we have. From the get-go this season the attitude of the players has been spot on. We've moved a few people out of the club who for various reasons didn't want to be here. I think in replacing these six players we have done well to strengthen the squad in bringing in five new players. The defining spirit within the group is very strong, very very positive .The good work ethic within the squad has been consistent more often than not. I know that this will continue and be a huge help in our efforts to stay in the Premier Division.
Considering that the squad was only assembled a couple of weeks before the season started and that most of the players were discarded by other clubs , it's great to see you bring about such a positive change.
I think managers sometimes get too much stick and other times too much credit. The game is about the players. We just facilitate and try and give them some guidance, some coaching. It's ultimately up to the players to take on board those ideas and those strategies. The players themselves deserve great credit . I have great help from Barry O'Connor and Jacko Smith and behind the scenes we have a hard working Board, who are doing their very best to ensure the survival of the club, that it stays solvent by working within our budget. When you have good players that work hard you can have confidence in their ability. We have moulded a tight knit unit that has a common goal, to ensure that Drogheda stays in the top division.
Compared to some other managers you seem quite calm throughout a game.
I don’t get too stressed out but if I was to be ranting and raving on the sideline consistently it doesn’t help the players to perform to the best of their ability. I always try to ensure that the players can respond to a negative situation in a positive manner and push on like we did after Friday last
How have you settled into the job in Drogheda?
I have to say I'm very happy here. It's very enjoyable going up on match nights. It's a very homely club. I enjoy working and training with the players and hopefully we can keep this good positive vibe going and match it with positive results for the rest of the season.
How do you view the role of the fans?
The Drogheda supporters have been magnificent the way they have got behind the team win, lose or draw.. If any of the players is having a bad game they don't get on to them, they try to help push them on. They support the team through thick and thin. They are the ones that have ensured that the club has survived last year's examinership. The fans have a huge part to play in helping us to stay in the Premier Division.
Going back to your experience as manager of Cork last season, you seemed very happy there, despite the financial turmoil at the club. It must have been very disruptive for your family.
Well luckily enough I hadn't got round to re-locating the whole family to Cork though that was the plan if I was to see out my contract. I've had great support from my wife Siobhán and my four children. They all enjoyed visiting Cork at weekends but thankfully hadn't got round to changing schools etc. That would have been disastrous. I'd given up a lot to take on the job down in Cork. My employers, Ulster Bank, were also very understanding in allowing me to take a two year leave of absence when it wasn't bank policy to do so.
After winning the Setanta Sports Cup the phone call from Tom Coughlan to sack you must have come as a bombshell. Do you think you have come out of that turmoil as a stronger person, a stronger manager?
Well sometimes I look at these kind of situations as being meant to test me. But it's been very evident over the last six months what kind of a chairman he has proven to be for Cork City with the mess the club is in. I'd be disappointed with some of the disparaging remarks that Paul Doolin has been making about the club before he arrived, something he knows nothing about. I can hold my head high about the effort I put in at Cork. I was genuinely very disappointed not to be able to continue working at the club.
You always spoke very highly of the players in Cork especially as their wages were reduced to 30 % of their basic income
The Cork players showed tremendous character and were professional at all times giving nothing less than 100% effort. I really felt that we had turned the corner .I trusted the players and they trusted me but it didn’t go up the line unfortunately.
Well I thought it was an awful insult to the League of Ireland when Coughlan was supposed to have offered the job to Billy Morgan, a GAA manager.
That was an early warning sign. But even afterwards to announce that Paul Doolin was his first choice all along !! (after efforts to appoint many others including Sammy McIlroy).
You took over from Stephen Kenny at Longford and went on to win two FAI Cups and a League Cup there. I'd imagine winning Longford's first ever senior trophy in 80 years was hugely satisfying when you beat St. Pat's by 2-0 at Lansdowne Road
It was a fantastic occasion as we played really well on the day and thoroughly deserved the win. Then to win the Cup again the following year, when we had so many replays along the way, was also very rewarding but the first trophy is that bit more special. Jim Hanley as Chairman was very supportive to me and ensured that there were good resources to improve the squad. Many of the players we signed went on to become household names, Sean Dillon (Dundee Utd), Dave Mooney(ex-Cork now Reading),Shane Barrett (Drogheda),Barry Ferguson (Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians),Graham Gartland (ex-Drogheda now St.Johnstone) and Pat Sullivan(Cork now Shamrock Rovers).
Looking at the League of Ireland overall, I think it's a shame that the media often overlook the huge improvements being made on the pitch ,the great results Irish teams have had in Europe etc.
Yeah definitely, when you look back at how well Drogheda did last year, almost knocking out Dinamo Kiev, Shelbourne before that ,Derry City over the years, St.Pat's knocking out Krylya Sovetov and Bohs just 3 minutes from eliminating Salzburg who have a €50 million budget this year,25 times what Bohs have! The coaching has improved enormously with all managers required to have the Pro Licence qualification from next season. Apart from tactics and various formations, managers also learn man-management skills. Off the pitch unfortunately, it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Clubs like Shelbourne and Bohemians gambling on selling their grounds, the family jewels. Cork City, having survived examinership, have got into a worse case scenario due to abject management and complete dereliction of duty. But overall we need more people coming through the turnstiles if any of the clubs are to sustain full-time football.
What other interests do you have outside of football ?
Well it’s amazing over the years what kind of different courses I’ve found myself doing .The next course I'm looking forward to next month is a Post Grad in Psychology!
PH You must be really frustrated with the way the referee allowed so much extra time with Bohemians scoring an equaliser well over the 3 minutes extra time and this for the second time this season against the same opposition?
AM. Our players had performed brilliantly the whole way through the game and had won the game within the official 93 minutes. We had withstood a barrage of attacks and had seen the game through. After the forty sixth minute he added on an extra three minutes of injury time . It just appeared to me that he was waiting and waiting for Bohs to score. Where he got the time from I don't know. For the four corners the referee gave in the last few minutes at least two of them were goal-kicks. You are looking for consistency from referees. It was a very poor performance from him to say the least .
So many of the fans are delighted to see the Drogheda players play with such fantastic team spirit. They show tremendous determination and work really hard for each other.
I've a good belief in the players that we have. From the get-go this season the attitude of the players has been spot on. We've moved a few people out of the club who for various reasons didn't want to be here. I think in replacing these six players we have done well to strengthen the squad in bringing in five new players. The defining spirit within the group is very strong, very very positive .The good work ethic within the squad has been consistent more often than not. I know that this will continue and be a huge help in our efforts to stay in the Premier Division.
Considering that the squad was only assembled a couple of weeks before the season started and that most of the players were discarded by other clubs , it's great to see you bring about such a positive change.
I think managers sometimes get too much stick and other times too much credit. The game is about the players. We just facilitate and try and give them some guidance, some coaching. It's ultimately up to the players to take on board those ideas and those strategies. The players themselves deserve great credit . I have great help from Barry O'Connor and Jacko Smith and behind the scenes we have a hard working Board, who are doing their very best to ensure the survival of the club, that it stays solvent by working within our budget. When you have good players that work hard you can have confidence in their ability. We have moulded a tight knit unit that has a common goal, to ensure that Drogheda stays in the top division.
Compared to some other managers you seem quite calm throughout a game.
I don’t get too stressed out but if I was to be ranting and raving on the sideline consistently it doesn’t help the players to perform to the best of their ability. I always try to ensure that the players can respond to a negative situation in a positive manner and push on like we did after Friday last
How have you settled into the job in Drogheda?
I have to say I'm very happy here. It's very enjoyable going up on match nights. It's a very homely club. I enjoy working and training with the players and hopefully we can keep this good positive vibe going and match it with positive results for the rest of the season.
How do you view the role of the fans?
The Drogheda supporters have been magnificent the way they have got behind the team win, lose or draw.. If any of the players is having a bad game they don't get on to them, they try to help push them on. They support the team through thick and thin. They are the ones that have ensured that the club has survived last year's examinership. The fans have a huge part to play in helping us to stay in the Premier Division.
Going back to your experience as manager of Cork last season, you seemed very happy there, despite the financial turmoil at the club. It must have been very disruptive for your family.
Well luckily enough I hadn't got round to re-locating the whole family to Cork though that was the plan if I was to see out my contract. I've had great support from my wife Siobhán and my four children. They all enjoyed visiting Cork at weekends but thankfully hadn't got round to changing schools etc. That would have been disastrous. I'd given up a lot to take on the job down in Cork. My employers, Ulster Bank, were also very understanding in allowing me to take a two year leave of absence when it wasn't bank policy to do so.
After winning the Setanta Sports Cup the phone call from Tom Coughlan to sack you must have come as a bombshell. Do you think you have come out of that turmoil as a stronger person, a stronger manager?
Well sometimes I look at these kind of situations as being meant to test me. But it's been very evident over the last six months what kind of a chairman he has proven to be for Cork City with the mess the club is in. I'd be disappointed with some of the disparaging remarks that Paul Doolin has been making about the club before he arrived, something he knows nothing about. I can hold my head high about the effort I put in at Cork. I was genuinely very disappointed not to be able to continue working at the club.
You always spoke very highly of the players in Cork especially as their wages were reduced to 30 % of their basic income
The Cork players showed tremendous character and were professional at all times giving nothing less than 100% effort. I really felt that we had turned the corner .I trusted the players and they trusted me but it didn’t go up the line unfortunately.
Well I thought it was an awful insult to the League of Ireland when Coughlan was supposed to have offered the job to Billy Morgan, a GAA manager.
That was an early warning sign. But even afterwards to announce that Paul Doolin was his first choice all along !! (after efforts to appoint many others including Sammy McIlroy).
You took over from Stephen Kenny at Longford and went on to win two FAI Cups and a League Cup there. I'd imagine winning Longford's first ever senior trophy in 80 years was hugely satisfying when you beat St. Pat's by 2-0 at Lansdowne Road
It was a fantastic occasion as we played really well on the day and thoroughly deserved the win. Then to win the Cup again the following year, when we had so many replays along the way, was also very rewarding but the first trophy is that bit more special. Jim Hanley as Chairman was very supportive to me and ensured that there were good resources to improve the squad. Many of the players we signed went on to become household names, Sean Dillon (Dundee Utd), Dave Mooney(ex-Cork now Reading),Shane Barrett (Drogheda),Barry Ferguson (Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians),Graham Gartland (ex-Drogheda now St.Johnstone) and Pat Sullivan(Cork now Shamrock Rovers).
Looking at the League of Ireland overall, I think it's a shame that the media often overlook the huge improvements being made on the pitch ,the great results Irish teams have had in Europe etc.
Yeah definitely, when you look back at how well Drogheda did last year, almost knocking out Dinamo Kiev, Shelbourne before that ,Derry City over the years, St.Pat's knocking out Krylya Sovetov and Bohs just 3 minutes from eliminating Salzburg who have a €50 million budget this year,25 times what Bohs have! The coaching has improved enormously with all managers required to have the Pro Licence qualification from next season. Apart from tactics and various formations, managers also learn man-management skills. Off the pitch unfortunately, it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Clubs like Shelbourne and Bohemians gambling on selling their grounds, the family jewels. Cork City, having survived examinership, have got into a worse case scenario due to abject management and complete dereliction of duty. But overall we need more people coming through the turnstiles if any of the clubs are to sustain full-time football.
What other interests do you have outside of football ?
Well it’s amazing over the years what kind of different courses I’ve found myself doing .The next course I'm looking forward to next month is a Post Grad in Psychology!
About Paul Holland
Paul Holland has been the Half-Time Co-ordinator at Drogheda United for the past five years and has produced two DVDs for the club in 2006 and 2007. Paul is also the Meath & Leinster Co-ordinator … View Full Profile