Caulfield warns against dangerous wage inflation
JOHN CAULFIELD believes the key to sustaining a new era of professionalism at Cork City is avoiding going down the road of bumping up the wages of players who are already established in the league.
The City boss believes that a move to full-time, 52-week contracts should make it easier to attract players from outside that can raise up the standards.
Caulfield – who has finally signed his new two-year deal – was speaking at the Leesiders’ press event ahead of Sunday’s FAI Cup final with Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium. Cork announced the manager’s contract news later in the day.
Spice has been added to the big-match preliminaries with Cork understood to be on the verge of losing striker Karl Sheppard to Dundalk.
Sheppard is out of contract and a good offer to move closer to his native Dublin appeals to him. Caulfield (below) did not deny the story but proceeded to speak in general terms about the challenges he faces this winter.
He suggested that the new league champions will consider looking overseas for fresh blood as he feels there is only a small number of performers operating here that could enhance his side.
The 53-year-old agrees with a view expressed by former Shamrock Rovers boss Michael O’Neill that clubs here have made the mistake of paying over the odds for the tried and trusted with wage inflation driven by rivalries – the old Cork City regime were guilty of that when they hit the rocks a decade ago. “The number out there that can come in and play every week and guarantee you the league title, that number is quite small,” says Caulfield. “We’ve players who we thought would be very good – but it didn’t work out for them. You’re wondering if they can perform week in, week out in front of 5,000 people and take the applause, the criticism and deliver.
“Attracting players from outside has been very hard and the reason we haven’t been able to do that is wage structure and you go down a slippery road if you end up paying your own players a lot more. Ultimately, we won’t be in that market.
BUDGETS
“There are clubs that no doubt have bigger budgets than us and sometimes you lose players for that reason but we try and sell the football environment package to the player, to live down here, to be involved in the community and the fact we’ve got the 52 weeks will mean now when you’re talking to a player that you’re talking about a salary – not a weekly wage.
“Going forward, I would hope if our club can manage cash flow, which I think they can, it will allow you to attract foreign players. A lot of foreign players want to come in and get to the UK and we’re a great route for them. A lot of them end up in Scotland. “I’m sure other managers have been active in that market and the wages of a lot of these guys are higher than where we’re at but I think next year and over the next couple of years we will have an influx of foreign players. You can see that we can attract some. Dundalk can. Shamrock Rovers can.” Caulfield hopes the year-round commitment will positively impact on
the perception of the league. Dundalk are going down a similar road with new recruits and the top sides are now effectively back at the point where no members of their playing squad will have work commitments outside of football. The Cork boss has made that a rule in his domain.
In the current climate, a majority of players are free to talk to other clubs before the end of the season with their contract expiring and that’s why speculation over the likes of Sheppard can hang over a vital week. Caulfield is adamant that the double chasers will not be distracted.
“Nothing will sidetrack me and this squad,” he asserted. “Do I expect changes? Of course there will be. We lost Sean Maguire and Kevin O’Connor two months ago and they need to be replaced.
But I still believe the majority of our players will stay next year.
“I don’t believe in all of the speculation. I talk to my players every day. Are there going to be any players moving on? Of course, we accept that as part of it but everyone is totally focused and tuned in,” continued Caulfield, addressing a question about whether a departing player could have a role to play in the Ballsbridge decider.
“They know they can create history for themselves and as a group. There will be plenty of time for talk about players going in and out next week.
“It’s part of League of Ireland football unfortunately because players are on short-term contracts and it leads to players moving on a lot; that’s why we are all working hard to make the league more professional.”