Fans dream of Roy after Clancy’s shock departure

Cork City’s search for a new management team may take some time after Tim Clancy’s surprise resignation as manager last Friday.

Some fans may be hoping that a frequent visitor to Turner’s Cross may take over next. Roy Keane attended the last two home games and would be a very exciting appointment that would earn global interest in the club.

Tim Clancy resigned after City’s 2-1 loss to Derry City on Friday in Turner’s Cross. Currently, the club are second from bottom in the Premier Division's relegation play-off spot, eight points behind eighth-placed Galway United.

The Meathman signed a two year contract last September but walked away from that after feeling burnt out.

Liam Kearney and Greg Yelverton will take charge of the team for their trip to St Patrick’s Athletic this weekend.

Some of the candidates linked to the job include Brian Barry-Murphy, who has a job in the Premier League for the time being and Aston Villa coach Gerard Nash who coaches with Swedish club GAIS and was said to be close to being appointed manager when Clancy was appointed in November 2023. Others linked include Shane Keegan, Keith Long, Vinny Perth and Joey O’Brien.

Speaking to ‘Off The Ball’ on Newstalk, Tim Clancy cited the absence of an assistant manager as a key factor in his departure. His former assistant Jamie Hamill returned to Scotland in March for family reasons. Clancy had worked for him for over 20 years.

He outlined how it was a struggle to find someone who would commit to taking the role. “I think we needed more staff in the building. We definitely needed my assistant manager role sorted. The workload was probably getting on top of me.

“Things have changed a little bit myself personally at home and that probably played a big part as well. I was commuting a lot this season - nearly every day,” he said adding that the drive was 2 hours 50 minutes.

He and his wife started their own gym business in Meath recently.

Clancy said that part of his job was to manage expectations from fans but a club of the size of Cork City should be challenging at the top of the table in time. He thinks that City are looking to consolidate in Premier Division and build year-on-year.

He also revealed that there is no video analyst at Cork City, which is a key role to relieve the workload on a manager.

Clancy said that the club is likely to lose the extremely promising Cathal O’Sullivan in the summer. The 18 year old’s contract is up at the end of the season so the club won’t get the transfer fee they would hope for, he suggested.

The former Cork City boss said he told owner Dermot Usher that he “felt absolutely exhausted” by the end of his tenure.

In a statement, he said: “The decision to leave is mine and mine alone. I am proud to have brought this team back to the League of Ireland Premier Division, and believe they have so much more to give. I would like to thank the players, Dermot Usher and the entire staff at Cork City FC for the opportunity to work with them, and wish them the best for the remainder of the season.”

Dermot Usher, owner of Cork City FC, added; “I spoke with Tim this evening, and while obviously disappointed, I fully respect his decision. On behalf of the club, I would like to thank him for his commitment over the past 18 months, and for everything he has done for the Rebel Army.”