LEESIDE LEADER
After narrowly missing out twice, Cork’s boss has rebuilt his side in a relentless quest for glory
‘The pressure is huge but that’s the way we like it’
THERE is very little that riles John Caulfield more than being second best at anything. Losing, it seems, is something he still finds hard to tolerate. The Cork City boss hasn’t endured many defeats in the Premier Division — just nine in the two seasons since taking charge at Turner’s Cross ahead of the 2014 campaign — but to paraphrase the late Bill Shankly of Liverpool, first is first and second is s o mewhere behi n d Dundalk.
That is where Caulfield’s Cork have found themselves at the end of each of the last two league seasons, not to mention the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup final loss to the Lilywhites in November.
For a man beholden to pre-match superstitions — he walks the four corners of the pitch before every game, pausing briefly at each goal to survey what’s in front of him — he puts huge emphasis on hard work and commitment.
They are the core values which he expects all those under his command to abide by. It’s not that Caulfield is a man of contradictions, but for 90 minutes on a Friday night the screech of the referee’s first whistle stirs something deep within him. His competitive edge reveals itself through his effervescent demeanour on the touchline.
Whereas his work at the club’s Bishopstown Training Centre is carried out with almost silent diligence away from the public glare, match night shines a spotlight on his team’s progress and with it comes a release of tension.
It’s strange to think of Caulfield doing anything else or being anywhere else, but before he was appointed Cork boss, he led an altogether different professional existence as a sales rep f or Diageo.
There was amateur success in the Munster Senior League with Avondale, followed by a stint looking after the University College Cork side, although it was his status as a Leeside legend which made him the No. 1 choice to replace Tommy Dunne.
Despite his club-record 129 goals in 455 games, taking the Cork job was a risk, but it was something he felt he had to do. Even during his 15 years as a player at Turner’s Cross he was never a full-time pro, work always went side-by- side. Now, though, he was the man charged with i nspiring those around him.
‘Some people thought I was off my game to give up my job and go into this environment, but it was a passion of mine and I wanted to have a cut at this,’ he explained ahead of November’s FAI Cup final.
‘During my amateur management days did I see myself getting here? Probably not, but when I first went into coaching my ambition was to see if I could get here and do it full-time.
‘I don’t want to switch off from that. Before I would get up at 6am and put on a suit and travel around, whereas now I’m in a tracksuit and training a group of players I want to see succeed.’
That desire to lead Cork to the summit and be the standard bearers in the League of Ireland is what drives him. At the root of all Caulfield does is a relentless need to make his club the best — he certainly believes that is where they belong.
‘We are the biggest club out there,’ he said in April last year following a 2-1 home defeat to Dundalk. ‘Historically, Shamrock Rovers have won more trophies but we are the biggest club in the league. Of course down here we all want to win and you’re under huge pressure.
‘It’s different from Dublin in a lot of ways. There isn’t the same interest [there], the same following. Here we’re in two papers every day, two or three radio stations. The pressure is enormous but that’s why we love it.’
The manner in which Caulfield carved through his squad after last season had ended and set about rebuilding shows he is not a manager blinded by loyalty.
Eight of the starting XI for the 2- 0 President’s Cup victory over Dundalk last Saturday were new signings, while a host of the previous squad — including Liam Miller and Dennehy brothers Darren and Billy — were shown the door.
The fact Caulfield was handed a new two-year contract in October would surely have given him the confidence to make such decisions, but more than that it was a realisation that change was required which emboldened the Cork manager.
It has been revolution rather than evolution for Cork in the offseason, and Caulfield is a Rebel whose cause is quite clearly to get Cork City to the top of Irish football.