Club’s underage thriving
IN his address at the Sligo Rovers AGM in the Clayton Hotel, Brendan Lacken, Club Secretary, said his key message was highlighting the great work being done at underage level. He added the club has aspirations to appoint a director of underage football and hopes to find a main sponsor for the underage teams in the coming weeks.
Mr Lacken maintained: “I am glad to say that after two turbulent seasons, which saw six managers in two years, 2016 has been a season of stability and consolidation for the club on the pitch. Our new manager Dave Robertson has come in and adjusted quickly to life in the League of Ireland. “When Dave arrived here on the 17th November 2015 we had three players signed. Dave quickly got to work and assembled a competitive squad in a short period of time. Finishing 5th, and agonisingly missing out on that elusive 4th place in the league. “This was an outcome we could only dream of this time last year. As a club we identified the key players from the 2016 squad we wanted for the upcoming campaign.” He said that while the main focus of Sligo Rovers’ attention is on the senior team, there is also great pride in the U19 and U17 teams.
“The U17s had a very successful season, reaching the semi- finals of both the league and the Mark Farren cup. I would like to thank all of our underage managers and coaches for the great work being undertaken with our underage. Brian Dorrian, Raffaele Cretaro and Micheál Schlingermann at U19. Danny O’Leary, Colm Jinks and Niall Harrisson at U17. The 2017 season will see the introduction of an U15 league and we have our management team of Marcel Gordon, Conor O’Grady and Paul Masterson in place. Indeed the number of coaches completing and enrolling on elite UEFA coaching augurs well for underage coaching at the club and in the wider football community going forward.”
The secretary said the club is seeing the merits of the work that has taken place over the last number of years, with Gary Boylan and Regan Donelon regular starters in the first team. Mikey Place, also had Mark Hannon and Paul Doyle also made first team appearances following impressive underage campaigns. “Over the last few weeks John Mahon and Ed McGinty have made there senior debuts. We also have had 16 players called up for participation in international squads,” the secretary said.
Mr Lacken added that one of the challenges with the underage has been the extra financial burden it places on the club with no central funding. “The underage structure is such an integral part of the club that going forward there is a need for a director of underage football. Unfortunately the cost of such an appointment on top of the existing underage costs leaves this outside of our financial reach presently. To help with the financing of our academy the club is endeavouring to find a main sponsor for our underage teams. This is something we will be giving top priority to over the next few weeks. It is our hope to find a sponsor locally or from the Sligo diaspora.” He added the club’s relationship with Sligo Leitrim Youths and Schoolboys and girls league has been further enhanced during the year with the establishment of the JYC.