Bohs place their faith In Reynolds as they look to the future

Following their slow start to the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division campaign, Bohemians took the decision to part with manager Declan Devine the other week, but on Tuesday morning the club confirmed that they had now appointed Alan Reynolds as his replacement for the remainder of the current season.

The 49 year old comes into Dalymount Park having been, most recently, assistant gaffer to ex Bohs boss Keith Long at Waterford, alongside his duties as Ireland Under 21 assistant since 2020.

As fans will know, the club had been hoping to tempt former Ireland boss Stephen Kenny into the role, but Reynolds was also prominent on their candidate shortlist, so when Kenny dropped out of the running, the Tramore native was obviously a strong next choice - particularly as they had also taken a previous look at him for the role when Long departed back in 2022. Whilst some fans who like a flutter may look to English Premier League bets, the Bohs may be an interesting option now when it comes to closer to home.

After leading his first training session, his first task is to obviously prepare the first team squad for Friday's huge Dublin derby as they travel to current champions Shamrock Rovers, and they will be seeking their first win away in Tallaght in the league for what is now, nigh on the last five seasons.

With seven points from the Bohs opening five games, Reynolds will be hoping to have a very quick impact on their current form levels, as although there is a ten point gap currently to Damien Duff's Shelbourne in top spot, if he does hit the ground running there is plenty of time to turn that around. There is a good chance he will get at least close to doing just that, as with over 300 professional games to his name during his playing days, he is a well known name and has good coaching experience from his spells with Waterford, Derry City and Shelbourne.

Helping him further will be the fact that he has a few friendly faces at the club in the shape of Jordan Flores and Danny Grant, to name just two, that he has worked with previously, so that should help him bed his ideas in a bit more quickly, and win over those who are completely new to him.

Reynolds is certainly coming in with ambitions and aims of his own, and whilst he is yet to officially be unveiled to the media following his appointment, he has already taken the chance to leave Bohs fans with few doubts about how far he wants to push the club back towards success and contention.

Namely, one of his first priorities is to get the club back into European competition again after a two year lay off given their league placing finishes, and he is clearly confident of doing that sooner rather than later, as he admitted he has had quite a few opportunities to get back into management properly but they never felt like the right opportunity. Once Bohs came a calling, it just clicked, as he sees the challenge but also the potential and he knew the fans would drive him to be successful, as they simply would not tolerate less.

His appointment obviously brings Pat Fenlon's return to the dug out to a quick end, but director of football Fenlon could not sing his praises enough, especially as they have a few prior understandings.

Fenlon was Reynolds' gaffer during his playing days, and he was DoF during his spell as manager at Waterford, so there are high hopes that this will work out well for them.