Ex-ibrox ace Feeno ready to Fuel the fire at Bangor as he aims to restore them to top tier for first time since 2009
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BY DARREN FULLERTON
FORMER Rangers striker Lee Feeney is set to mix fun with focus as he plots Bangor’s route back to the top table of Irish League football.
The popular 42-year-old, dubbed ‘The Golden Child’ when he signed for the Ibrox club in 1998, was appointed Seasiders boss on Monday night.
And while Feeney is known as a colourful character of the local game, he is deadly serious when it comes to returning Bangor to the Premiership.
The County Down club, fourth in the
Premier Intermediate
League prior to lockdown, last featured in the top tier in 2009.
“You have to set high standards and believe you can do it,” said Feeney, who played for Bangor in the mid-2000s.
“When I grew up Bangor was a top club playing in Irish Cup finals (they won it in 1993) and I believe they are still a top tier club given the history and size of the club.
“We’re in the third tier now and it will be a massive challenge, but my job is to try and get the club back up the divisions.
“My ambition is to manage B angor in the Premiership.
“Will it be tough? Of course, but Newry City set a standard when they climbed through the divisions a few years ago and Warrenpoint also did it in recent times.
“As a person I will always challenge myself and nothing is unachievable if everyone buys into what we’re trying to achieve.”
Feeney, whose time under Dick Advocaat (inset) at Rangers was short lived, admits he has “more hunger for football” now than in his formative years.
He said: “I’m still the playful, love a laugh character I was, but I think the football penny dropped for me in my early-30s.
“I started to take things more seriously. I’ve worked really hard at football in recent years and this is something I probably should have been doing years ago.
“I would never take the fun away from being a footballer. Everyone has a different personality and you can’t turn people into robots.
“Every changing room has characters, but as long as you’re working hard, doing the business on the pitch and respect yourself, I don’t mind you being colourful.”
Feeney, who also played for Shamrock Rovers, Ards and Newry, admits it is an “added complication” being appointed in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown.
“The lockdown and not knowing when the season will be finished isn’t ideal, simply because you don’t know when your first game will be,” he said.
“I’ll be pacing the room at home, but my first aim is to get in contact with the players, see how they are in terms of their fitness and take things from there.
“It’s a privilege to be named Bangor manager and I’m relishing the task ahead.”
LEE FEENEY will be his own man but the new Bangor boss says he won’t think twice about leaning on cousin Warren Feeney for managerial advice.
Former Northern Ireland striker Warren, who worked alongside Lee as his No.2 at Ards last year, is currently managing Pirin Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria.
The 39-year-old, who won 46 international caps, is an experienced coach having managed both Linfield and Newport County.
Lee, who played for Annalong in the Mid Ulster League last season, said: “I was actually meant to be in Bulgaria with Warren at the moment.
“He wanted me over there as an assistant and we had everything arranged around Christmas time, but a technicality stopped it happening.
“We would speak to each other every day and I’m sure there will be certain times and situations as a manager where I can call upon Warren for some advice.
“We are two different people, but we worked well together during our time at Ards and there are definitely things I could go to him for in the future.”
A FAMILY TRADITION Warren and Lee Feeney
IT’S FEE AGREED
Lee Feeney was paraded at the Bangor Fuels Arena on Monday night
SCOTT BROWN insists intense Celtic’s Ten in a Row focus won’t be wrecked by radical changes to Scottish football’s make-up.
The Parkhead skipper (above) is adamant the troops will deal with any alterations made to the game in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown as they maintain total focus and concentration on the job. Neil Lennon’s (left) men and the rest of Scotland’s clubs face abnormal circumstances upon resumption due the effects of the pandemic. In particular, the prospect of empty stadiums in the opening weeks of the campaign is likely to give the game a completely different feel.
Brown admits losing the backing of 60,000 supporters at home and a massive away following will be a setback, but has assured those fans his team will stay in the zone as they start chasing a huge prize.
He said: “When the Bundesliga came back, I watched the first games and I have to admit that it was a little bit weird watching it.
“With the games being behind closed doors, you could hear all of the lads shouting for the ball and things like that. It didn’t feel normal.
“If you watch golf and I do, that’s a sport where people aren’t shouting and singing when the players are playing and you can appreciate that.
“There’s no shouting and cheering in the middle of someone’s swing or anything like that, so it can happen in other sports.
“But it’s different in football. You miss the cheering and the shouting and the way people can push you, especially for us at Celtic Park when 60,000 fans inside there can be the 12th man for us at times.
“They have dug deep for us at times and that has led to us scoring late winners or late equalisers in matches. It’s kind of what football needs. It really needs the supporters.
“But don’t get me wrong, we’d deal with it. We have to deal with whatever situation which faces us.
“It’s not something we haven’t experienced. “Whatever comes and is put towards us, we need to deal with it.”