REYNOLDS INSISTS HE’LL BE ‘FULL ON’ IN TAKING BOHS TO THE TOP
ALAN Reynolds reckons Bohemians still owe him for a damaged car window. Back in his Longford Town days, he traded insults with Kevin Hunt, the Bohs skipper, during a game at Dalymount Park. ‘Afterwards, the fans took it out on me and threw a brick on the way out. Stephen Kenny helped to fix up the window,’ he recalled. Why the spark with Hunt? ‘I was just jealous that he was playing for Bohs instead of me and we had a few words.’
Reynolds never played for the Gypsies in a distinguished career although he thought he had a chance when Kenny, who signed him for Longford Town, became boss at Dalymount. ‘When Stephen went to Bohs, he signed Kevin Hunt and I knew it wasn’t going to happen for me. I forgave him for that.’ At 49, Reynolds is finally on the Bohs books, as manager, over 20 years since he took the reins at
Waterford, his local club, as player-boss. ‘Ah I was mad then, I’m madder now!’ he quipped. ‘I was 27, I was player-manager and we’d a good team, Daryl Murphy, Davey Mulcahy who played for Bohs and we had a purple patch. ‘I thought “This is easy”. We were playing and winning games, we got beaten in the Cup final and then in the second season we lost games and I didn’t know how to react or how to deal with it. ‘After that, I went and served my apprenticeship for managing. I played full-time with Shels and then worked with Stephen (Kenny) at Derry. I should have done that before going into managing.’ Reynolds regards Kenny as a key influence on his career. ‘Stephen was a big one of mine and Ruaidhri Higgins and Pat (Fenlon) as well. I took things from all managers, good and bad.’ Bohs last won a trophy in 2010 and are arguably fourth in Dublin’s
League of Ireland table behind Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic and a resurgent Shelbourne. It’s up to Reynolds, who had been No 2 to Keith Long at Waterford, to shake things up and recapture the success enjoyed under Billy Young, Eamon Gregg, Roddy Collins, Kenny and Fenlon. ‘I’m going to put demands on the players. It’s 24/7. We’re full on. It can’t be through lack of work ethic or effort, and that’s including staff. ‘Everything has to go up. The way we train, prepare, rest, everything has to go up. And I’ll have no regrets when I’ll look back,’ he said. His first game is just the ticket, away to Rovers in front of a record Tallaght Stadium crowd tomorrow. It’s almost forgotten that Bohemians are above the champions in the table. ‘Initially, I hadn’t looked at the fixtures. Maybe I would have been wiser to! But no, it’s an exciting one and the players are itching for it,’ he said. Reynolds hasn’t closed the door on staying involved with the Irish Under 21 side as Jim Crawford’s No 2, having recently returned from San Marino. ‘There are a few conversations to be had as there are games coming up in September and October,’ he said.