Corey appointed Sligo manager.
TYRONE’s Cathal Corey was revealed as the new Sligo senior football manager by the Sligo County Board.
Corey will take over after Kildare’s Niall Carew stepped down last September.
The selection committee appointed by the County Board relayed their findings to the County Executive committee and the candidate was later approved at the County Board meeting last Monday night week.
Corey’s home Club is Kildress Wolfe Tones in Tyrone and while he has never managed at Inter County level previously,he has a very strong track record in both Tyrone,Derry and Donegal.
In his early days as a Coach he managed both Slaughtneil and Banagher in Derry. He helped Slaughterneil to a Derry league title and most recently worked with Monaghan club Truagh.
Corey was in the shake-up to replace Jim McGuinness as Donegal manager when he moved on but they opted for Rory Gallagher instead. And after Gallagher stepped down earlier this year, Corey, who had helped Glenties to another county crown in 2015, was again overlooked, this time Declan Bonner getting the nod.
He worked with McGuinness when he Managed Killyclogher in Co.Tyrone and again when he was involved with Naomh Conaill in Donegal.
Corey won the Donegal title with Naomh Conaill in 2010 and brought them to the Ulster Championship final that year only to be beaten by Crossmaglen.
The new manager will be finalising his backroom team over the coming week as he prepares for both the FBD and National League campaigns and then faces a significant opening National League fixture against Armagh in the Athletic Grounds at the end of January.
Corey admits he has some work to do to familiarise himself with the Sligo football scene but was impressed with the ambition of the county’s executive.
He said: “I got a phone call about two weeks ago asking if I would be interested so I went down and met them.
“I was very impressed with the set-up and the Centre of Excellence they have down there.
“The board said they have a good team of 18 to 22-year-olds that they want to bring through,” he added.
“I have watched a couple of videos since getting the call and I was impressed.
“They look like big, strong, fit fellas who are in good condition.
“They are obviously serious about their football,” he said,
Having spent plenty of time working with McGuinness, Sligo fans could be forgiven if they expect to see plenty of bodies behind the ball in 2018.
However, the Kildress Wolfe Tones man insists they will be cutting their cloth to suit.
“We’d all like to play the Rolls Royce stuff and I think young players like to play attacking football too.
“We won’t be putting 15 men behind the ball but you have to be aware of what is behind you too.
“And then it comes down to the opposition, the players you have, the time of the game it is and how things are going for you.
“There are plenty of things that determine that,” he added.
The Tyrone man comes with lots of coaching experience.
He was well regarded with players from his most recent club, Truagh in Co Monaghan.
Club PRO Barry Treanor said players liked his style of play.
“Cathal was with us for one year he started early this year and he has plenty of experience,” Barry added.
“He was very well got within the club among all the players, one of them said he’s the best trainer he ever worked with.
“Cathal is highly regarded, he did a good job with us, bringing in a lot of minors and bringing them up to senior which was a good thing.
“He played a good brand of football, the previous manger we had played more defensive football but with Cathal, the points were way up. That was his priority.
“Cathal brings a lot of experience and I think it will be good for Sligo,” he added.