Oran would be a hit with Saints: McKendry
CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE Interviews are expected to begin tomorrow and will also take place on Wednesday before St Mirren make a decision on who should lead them against the likes of Steven Gerrard’s Rangers and Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.
Should Kearney be given the nod, he would become the FIFTH Northern Ireland manager in Scotland’s top flight joining Rodgers, Neil Lennon (Hibernian), Tommy Wright (St Johnstone) and Stephen Robinson (Motherwell).
The Saints approached Coleraine chairman Colin McKendry last week asking for permission to speak to Kearney, a full-time teacher, who has been in charge of the Bannsiders since 2011.
McKendry granted permission and, although he would love Kearney to stay, the Bannsiders
Full faith: Colin McKendry
chairman is aware how tempting an opportunity like this would be and also believes that his friend would excel in full-time football.
“Oran will leave no stone unturned in getting detail and background on the St Mirren team,” said McKendry.
“He will educate himself about the club and I think he has to go through the process to find out what’s involved managing at that level.
“While it would leave a massive void for Coleraine, if he gets the job I would be 100% confident that Oran would be successful managing in the Scottish Premiership.
“It may not lead anywhere but it could be quite the opposite and Oran could be offered the job.
“Look at how well Tommy Wright has done with St Johnstone and he used to manage in the Irish League. Also there are Northern Ireland men like Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon and Stephen Robinson who have proved big successes in Scotland, so the game over there suits managers from our country.” DEAN Shiels has agreed to join Derry City on an 18-month contract, giving the Candystripes a boost ahead of their clash against league champions Cork City at Turner’s Cross this afternoon.
The attacking midfielder, son of City boss Kenny, has enjoyed significant success in Scotland with both Rangers and Kilmarnock and has also won the League of Ireland title with Dundalk in 2016.
A free agent since leaving Dunfermline at the end of May, Shiels will join up with Derry City in July.
The news is a huge boost for the City players and the management with the squad currently in desperate need of reinforcements.
The manager is hoping to rouse his players out of the desperate slump they find themselves in, with Friday’s defeat to Sligo Rovers their fourth loss in five games.
“It’s going to be a tough game because I don’t know if Cork have even conceded any goals at home this season, so there are lots of challenges there for us,” he admitted.
“But we have to be above that and we have to make sure that we have got a different level of confidence going into the game and I’m sure we can do that and get something from the game at least.”
Rory Patterson returns for Derry after serving a suspension and Shiels has now challenged his players to respond to recent criticism after accepting the praise of the fans earlier in the season.
“We need to get the apathy removed,” he said.
“It’s not easy because, understandably, the supporters are concerned at the run of results. The players were put on this pedestal and I warned against it. It’s put them in a situation where they have to understand that if people love them all of a sudden they can change so easily.”