Cooke amazed to be going up
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Mick Cooke has admitted he would’ve preferred if Monaghan Utd had earned promotion to the Premier Division on the field of play but after his side were awarded a place in the Premier Division this morning, at the expense of Galway Utd, he is delighted that the club got their rewards for doing a fine job on and off the field.
“I’m sorry we didn’t win it on the pitch,” he told extratime.ie. “Administration has decided our fate for us and we’ve accepted it. The club has worked very hard on and off the field in the last number of years. The next three weeks are going to be hectic for me. I have about 13 to 14 players signed at the moment but I need to get in more. I have room for 3 or 4 more to come in.”
Cooke had no idea whether or not his side would get a Premier Division licence. He was out for a walk when Mons Chairman Jim McGlone rang him this morning with the good news.
He said, “I walked for miles and miles while I was waiting on the phone call. I had no inkling at all and to be honest I didn’t even let it cross my mind. My head was for going to Wexford on the 4th of March. I was amazed when I heard we were going up, and in place of Galway, but my concern is Monaghan.”
With the way the some clubs have struggled financially over the last number of years Cooke believes that it’s far more important for clubs to be healthy off the field, than on it.
“With the way things are going with the league at the moment some sponsors don’t want to part with their money. When they give money, they want to see the club being half-decent on the pitch but they also want the club to be more prudent off the pitch and do their work properly,” said the Mons boss.
So now for Cooke and Monaghan Utd, instead of preparing to face Wexford Youths on the 4th of March they can look forward to a home game against St. Patrick’s Athletic in their first game back in the Premier Division. It’s a game Cooke is looking forward to: “It’s great that our first game of the season is at home to St Pat’s. Pete Mahon and myself are very good friends so I’m really looking forward to that one,” he said.
“I’m sorry we didn’t win it on the pitch,” he told extratime.ie. “Administration has decided our fate for us and we’ve accepted it. The club has worked very hard on and off the field in the last number of years. The next three weeks are going to be hectic for me. I have about 13 to 14 players signed at the moment but I need to get in more. I have room for 3 or 4 more to come in.”
Cooke had no idea whether or not his side would get a Premier Division licence. He was out for a walk when Mons Chairman Jim McGlone rang him this morning with the good news.
He said, “I walked for miles and miles while I was waiting on the phone call. I had no inkling at all and to be honest I didn’t even let it cross my mind. My head was for going to Wexford on the 4th of March. I was amazed when I heard we were going up, and in place of Galway, but my concern is Monaghan.”
With the way the some clubs have struggled financially over the last number of years Cooke believes that it’s far more important for clubs to be healthy off the field, than on it.
“With the way things are going with the league at the moment some sponsors don’t want to part with their money. When they give money, they want to see the club being half-decent on the pitch but they also want the club to be more prudent off the pitch and do their work properly,” said the Mons boss.
So now for Cooke and Monaghan Utd, instead of preparing to face Wexford Youths on the 4th of March they can look forward to a home game against St. Patrick’s Athletic in their first game back in the Premier Division. It’s a game Cooke is looking forward to: “It’s great that our first game of the season is at home to St Pat’s. Pete Mahon and myself are very good friends so I’m really looking forward to that one,” he said.
