It’s all Fenn and games as Town on right track
BETWEEN Declan Rice’s dithering and Harry Arter’s angst, it’s been a rum few days for London-born footballers with Irish family connections.
Neale Fenn, the Longford Town manager who is overseeing a quiet renaissance in the Midlands, is one who’s been there, seen it and worn the green shirt too.
It’s more than 25 years since Fenn, then an apprentice with Spurs, had the chance to play for the Republic of Ireland U16s through his Irish-born mother.
Back then, the tidy centre-forward cheered for both teams, Ireland and England, whenever they were on the TV.
Fenn took the plunge into Irish waters rather than hang around for a possible call from England and never looked back.
At 20, he scored a vital goal in the 2-1 win over Morocco in the last 16 as Brian Kerr’s ‘Malaysia Marvels’ marched to third place in the U20 World Cup.
That year, 1997, Fenn also earned a call-up by Mick McCarthy to train with the senior squad.
‘I’d been sent off for the U21s, was suspended, and that counted against me as Mick [McCarthy] felt he couldn’t put me on the bench,’ he recalled.
After making his Spurs debut against Roy Keane and Co at Old Trafford as a teenager, by 2003 Fenn had embarked on a distinguished League of Ireland career, which embraced League and FAI Cup honours, and continued until 2010.
After a six-year break, Fenn resumed on football’s front line at Leyton Orient in the spring of 2017, as the little London club’s English League membership was in its final death throes.
‘A pal of mine became manager and he asked me would I like to help out for the last six games. It was a very toxic atmosphere,’ he recalled.
‘There was no money, the PFA were trying to help out. We had players desperate to play in order to get a move and we had others who had clubs to go to who were less concerned about their future. It was a mess but I learnt from the experience,’ he said.
Fenn found he had the bug for football again and was appointed manager of Longford Town that summer after an impressive interview. Longford, you suspect, have done well out of the deal as Fenn, articulate, knowledgeable and thorough, is shaping a revival of fortunes on the Strokestown Road in between his ‘day’ job in DCU with the Path2Pro coaching academy. After finishing mid-table with 38 points from 28 games last season, ‘The Town’ are on track for the promotion play-offs with 44 points from 25 games this year.
Pointedly, they have scored 17 more goals already than last term with winger Dylan McGlade a threat as a creator and taker of goals. Getting back to football’s top table is the priority for Fenn but tonight offers the distraction of the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup when holders Cork City visit City Calling Stadium.
Wins over Sligo Rovers and Shelbourne have lifted Longford into the last eight and revived memories, not so distant either, of the club’s march to three Cup finals between 2001 and 2004, winning two of them.
Fenn has a Cup connection to Cork, having played in the team which lost the 2005 final to Drogheda.
‘It was a horrible day and the Lansdowne Road pitch was not the best but we were never at it. Drogheda turned up on the day, we didn’t,’ he recalled.
‘We’d won the League two weeks previously, on the last day of the season against Derry, and the long gap to the final probably didn’t help. Had it been the following week, we could have put the celebrations on hold for a week.’
Three years later, Fenn was on the Bohs team which beat Derry in one of the greatest ever FAI Cup finals, a 3-2 thriller at the RDS.
While a part of him would love to lead Longford to the Aviva Stadium, pragmatism is pointing towards a greater goal: promotion. ‘As much as we’d like to win against Cork, the league game against Drogheda the week after is a bigger game,’ he said. If Longford are to rattle Cork’s cage tonight, then inform McGlade may hold the key. The 23-year-old from Swords is surfing a wave of confidence at the moment, and bagged his first senior hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Cabinteely last week. ‘Consistency is the key to our season, and to Dylan’s play too. His all-round contribution has been outstanding recently.’ The arrival of Jamie Doyle from Shelbourne in mid-summer has given Fenn extra attacking options while he believes fit-again Peter Hopkins can have a big impact too in the coming game. So much to play for, and it continues tonight.