O’Donnell is always welcome in Oriel

Outgoing head coach looked to be a perfect fit in charge but off the field issues marred his bid to be a success

A BREAK-UP is never easy, even if it has to happen.

There was undoubtedly a romantic side to the idea of Stephen O’Donnell returning to Oriel Park at the end of 2021.

The legendary club captain, who’d proven himself as a manager elsewhere, was a fitting choice to lead the club into what was, at the time, an exciting new era under local ownership.

It looked a perfect fit, especially given how he was serenaded by the away support at Richmond Park after his St Pat’s side had beaten Dundalk in the FAI Cup semi-finals that October.

However, relationships can sour over time and particularly in football.

While sackings happen all too often in the game he loves, as he sits down to weigh up what is next for him over the coming weeks, O’Donnell could be forgiven for wondering how he got to this point.

As he rightly pointed out in recent weeks, the Galway-native gave up a lot to return to Oriel Park. He had just finished second with St Pat’s and won the FAI Cup. The easier decision would have been to remain in Inchicore and look to kick on.

Heart undoubtedly overruled head in making his exit from Inchicore – a split that remains messy two-and-a-half years on.

That said, O’Donnell was sold a dream, like all of us, that failed to emerge.

The departure of PEAK6 after a rocky few years was meant to be a re-birth for the club. O’Donnell knew he would be facing a difficult task initially but he more than held up his share of the deal by guiding the club back into Europe with a third-placed finish (joint-second but for goal difference) in his debut season.

He did so with a hastily assembled squad that, perhaps, lacked depth but had plenty of experience of the league and top level football.

It was at that point that Dundalk FC should have pressed on but off the field, the owners were looking to get out having presumably bit off more than they could chew. Despite denials that they were seeking a sale at the start of 2023, they had had already made attempts to flog the club while attending the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022.

It looked for a time as if a deal with Hull City would emerge but when it didn’t, the club remained in an almost no man’s land position off the field with no major attempts to run it as a going concern bar the basics of opening the doors for matches on a Friday night.

Seán O’Connor, Alan Clarke and Andy Connolly would eventually make their exit last November but the impact of their reign was telling on O’Donnell and his prospects.

No manager is expected to be faultless or get everything right but the Galwegian was massively hamstrung by the instability off the field for the last two seasons.

TWO YEARS RUNNING

For two years running, Dundalk were the last club in the country to add to their squad in the off season, with Dara Keane – who only made his debut off the bench against Derry City on Friday – the only one to come from within the league.

While O’Donnell and his team were rightly criticised in some cases for recruitment, the reality is they were forced into markets they weren’t comfortable in.

O’Donnell was hired not just for his connection to the club but because he knew the League of Ireland, he knew what it took to compete in it and he knew what it took to win it. When he was forced to almost universally recruit from abroad, he was entering into unknown territory beyond his or his backroom team’s experience.

No manager will get every signing right but when that sort of scenario emerged there was always likely to be more misses than hits.

That’s not to say you can’t get good additions from outside the league but Shelbourne, currently top and unbeaten, are almost a prime example of how it should be done. From Conor Kearns in goal, Gavin Molloy and Paddy Barrett at the back, Mark Coyle and JJ Lunney in midfield and Seán Boyd up front, they have a spine of seasoned, committed players who know this league. While adding winners like Seán Gannon and experience like Keith Ward – two very well-known in this parish – they are then able to complement the side with the likes of a Will Jarvis and Liam Burt, who hail from outside it.

Had O’Donnell been able to recruit in this way, perhaps his story would have ended a lot differently.

That’s not to say there weren’t mistakes along the way. Dressing room reports say he distanced himself from players at a certain point of last year, while the side’s record of falling behind (28 of the last 44 league games) and poor record away from home (less than a goal a game scored and just three wins in Dublin, two against UCD) did him little favours.

There was also criticism from within over the role played in both recruitment and tactics of a member of the backroom team without coaching badges.

Those things, coupled with a failure to lift his side, are what cost him his job but the environment he worked in is what ultimately let him down.

Despite the lows of recent weeks, O’Donnell is a good coach and we can but hope he gets to prove that again. Like after any break-up, you can only learn the lessons from it and hope that your next partnership will be better.

It’s always hard saying goodbye to a legend but O’Donnell is not the first to depart as manager having been a star at the club in his playing days. Dermot Keely, Turlough O’Connor, Martin Murray and Terry Eviston are just some of those who’ve also held the title of player and manager at different stages.

Whatever the reasons for their exits, it hasn’t diminished the esteem they are held in at Oriel Park.

O’Donnell will forever be a legend at Oriel Park and, without question, he should be welcomed back this October for the 10th anniversary of his title-winning strike against Cork City and any other time he wishes to return.

He was let down as Dundalk head coach but the fans will always have him on a pedestal.

That’s one relationship which will never diminish.