Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE ORAN LEGACY
Murphy sees Jeffrey in Bann boss Kearney
IRISH League great William Murphy insists Coleraine manager Oran Kearney reminds him of their legendary boss at Linfield David Jeffrey.
It is a huge compliment for Kearney as the Bannsiders aim to make it five Premiership victories out of five at home to
Glenavon today.
Only Coleraine and Linfield, who head the table on goal difference, have a perfect league record this season but with David Healy’s men in IRN-BRU Cup action, Kearney’s side can hit the top of the pile with a positive result against third placed Glenavon.
The free-scoring Lurgan outfit would move into first place themselves with a win at the Showgrounds in what is an eagerly anticipated fixture.
Murphy, now a coach at Coleraine, played for years under Jeffrey at Linfield and intriguingly sees much of the traits in Kearney that turned the current Ballymena United boss into a trophy winning machine at Windsor Park.
“Oran is a very knowledgeable guy and is unbelievable in the dressing room. I see some of David Jeffrey in him. I really do,” said Murphy, an influential defender in Jeffrey’s glory days with Linfield. He is methodical with his team selection and his team talks.
“He talks about the opposition, speaks about ourselves and what we can achieve and is very detailed in everything he does.
“He is very positive and the players respond to that. In terms of big decision making Oran talks things through and he has shown at Coleraine that he makes the right calls, which was key to the success we enjoyed under David Jeffrey at Linfield.
“Qualifying for Europe was big for the club and fantastic for team spirit. That experience has really helped us early on this season and we want to continue that form.”
Ex-glenavon ace Murphy (left) knows all about winning league titles. With suggestions that Coleraine could mount a challenge, what’s his verdict?
“At the moment I would say no. Obviously we would want to win to win the league but when you consider the squads at Linfield and Crusaders, they are hard to match.
“We’ve only had four league games. If we are joint top after 34 games, then we could talk about going for the title!”