DYCHE’S PLANS STILL ON HOLD
No stopping Rovers boss smashing all records
against all four, as well as Bradley and Turlough
O’Connor, the League’s six most decorated coaches.
“The game has changed, for sure,” Devlin says. “But really there are so many striking similarities between all those men.
Ruthless
“They are great guys for a start, approachable, gentlemanly. Yet there was a ruthless streak underneath.
“And you need that. I remember, as a young coach, standing in the opposing dug-out to Jim McLaughlin. That was always a challenge. He knew the game inside out. He recruited well. If someone underperformed, they were moved on.
“Then Stephen (Kenny), Pat (Fenlon), Dermot (Keely) emerged and you could say the same about them.
“I remember sitting in with a meeting with Stephen Kenny in and around 1999. He was 27 at the time, manager of Longford, and was looking to get two of my better players, Richie Parsons and Robbie Coyle.
“I wouldn’t say he wiped my eye but he got what he wanted. I
PAT ON THE BACK: Pat Fenlon is lifted by his players after a Bohemians title victory remember walking out of the Shelbourne Hotel thinking ‘this fella is going places’.
“You got that feeling from Bradley, too. You just knew he had a gift for the job. And look at what he has done. Four titles before his 40th birthday. That’s incredible. He deserves what he has got from the game because he has worked so hard for it.”
Open
He’s an open book, Bradley. Up and coming coaches, who have a thirst for knowledge, are allowed to observe a session.
“Respect, an atmosphere of mutual respect, that was the big thing I noticed,” said one coach, after visiting Roadstone.
For Dolan, the selection of his coaching staff, Graham Lawlor and Stephen McPhail, is vital.
“They aren’t looking for any credit,” says Dolan, who built title winning teams at St Pat’s and later Cork City.
“They don’t want any of the limelight yet there is clearly a bond between the three. Every manager needs that.”
While Rovers’ form, just six wins out of 15 games so far in 2024, is way below their average, they have more scope to improve than any of their rivals as their injury situation eases.
At 39, Bradley has another two decades in the coaching game if he wants them.
The only person who will stop Stephen Bradley winning may end up being Stephen Bradley.
Because those who appear to be in a different league always end up getting tempted away to work in a different League.
EVERTON manager Sean Dyche admits he is having to remain flexible in terms of his planning for next season while the club’s ongoing takeover saga drags on.
Owner Farhad Moshiri has had an agreement in place since September, but seven months on there are increasing signs the deal may be close to collapse as US investment firm 777 Partners have problems over unpaid debts with some of their other acquisitions.
It is understood Moshiri has held face-to-face talks with 777 this week as he considers whether to pull the plug, while a
UP IN THE AIR: Sean Dyche’s waiting to crack on