By Keith Wallace,
July 5th 2007.
They think it’s all over…it is now! Or at least that’s what Cathal O’Connor thought about his time at Dundalk.
O’Connor arrived at Oriel Park in July of last year but after an unsuccessful spell, which included only two starting appearances, the Dubliner was released from the club by John Gill in December. The fat lady sang, ‘Cotsy’ packed his bags and Dundalk fans waved goodbye to a player who had done little to impress them during his five-month spell. In a strange U-turn, however, the midfielder was re-called to the squad just weeks later, and has surprisingly proved to be one of the stars of the 2007 season. So, what exactly happened? Cathal explains…“I came in at the wrong time last year and had a bit of a shocker. It was hard, because when I joined, the team were starting such a good run that I was only getting bits here and there, but you can’t complain.
“It’s the same this year, you’ve got guys who aren’t getting as much game time as they would like. Because the team is winning, it’s hard to change it and knock someone out. John has always been honest with me, and, at the end of the day, it didn’t work out for me here last year. I didn’t play that much and I was expecting to be let go, because he had his team and he had players in mind to bring in. I had a couple of other offers, but nothing that I wanted to pursue. I was delighted to get the call from John right after Christmas to come back. We had a good chat on the phone and had a good chat up here. It was an honest conversation, and we kind of forgot about last year. I came in and had a good pre-season, and luckily enough I got the shout at the start of the season and I’ve been there since. It’s good to be back, and good to be involved with a team that’s pushing for the league.”
O’Connor already has one league medal in his collection, and that came at a club where he spent most of his career. Cathal started with Home Farm as a schoolboy, and it was with them that he made his League of Ireland bow in 1999. “At the time, I was with Gerry Scully with Home Farm Youths,” O’Connor recalls. “I did my Leaving Cert and I went on holidays, and when I was away, Gerry phoned the house and left a message for me to come up to train with the reserves. Gerry was there with Mick Lawlor, and after a couple of months, I got into the first team. It was great. It was a good learning curve and I really enjoyed my time there, because I had played with Home Farm the whole way up, so it was the next progression.”
O’Connor stayed there until 2002, before deciding to make the short trip south to Kildare County, who were preparing for their first season in senior soccer. “Johnny McDonnell (the then manager of Dublin City – formerly Home Farm!) had left to go to Shelbourne as assistant, so the team broke up after that. It was a pity, because we had done well. I could have stayed, but I felt that the move was good because it was something different. John Gill was assistant to Dermot Keely at Kildare and I spoke to John a good few times, and it was more to do with speaking to him that I signed, because I had never met or worked under Dermot before. I knew a few of the players they were bringing in and I knew they’d be competitive, so I decided to sign. The first year went really well, they had great crowds. We got off to a bad start but just missed out on the playoffs. I had a great year there, I won the ‘Player of the Year’ and really enjoyed the football under Dermot. Then the next year, we brought in a few more players and looked to really take a charge at promotion. I came back in pre-season but couldn’t get into the team.”
As a result of that, Cathal was released from his contract at County in mid-2003 and returned to Dublin City where he joined up with John Gill, who had left Kildare to take the Vikings job earlier that year. And, that transfer ended in the midfielder picking up his very first piece of senior silverware. “It was a nice move,” the 27-year-old admits, “because I hadn’t been playing with Kildare, so I jumped at the chance to get back playing. It was great, because I came in with about 20 games to go and we ended up winning the league on the last day of the season. It was a great experience, and hopefully that will stand to me this year. We were just all in it together, the team spirit was unbelievable, we were very solid, played some good football and when we needed to win, we won. Overall, it was really enjoyable, and I was delighted to draw with Bray on the last day to clinch the title.”
The subsequent Premier Division season didn’t go to plan, however, as O’Connor admits: “In fairness, it didn’t. We all had our different expectations of what was going to happen. I thought, at times, we were very competitive. We didn’t get a lot of luck at the start, you could say it was luck or maybe naivety. We conceded late goals, we gave away silly goals and we didn’t create enough at times. We were competitive, fit and had a good, strong squad of players, but it just didn’t happen for us. That’s the way it goes…you learn from what you’ve done before.”
Due to the poor start to that campaign, Gill resigned in July 2004, and was soon replaced by Roddy Collins. But, despite the side’s disappointing results, was Gill’s departure expected? “No. John is the type of guy that you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. We were playing and training, and he was his usual self, but maybe he was thinking he had done enough or he couldn’t bring any more to the table. And he was probably frustrated as well. He left after a cup defeat up in Monaghan, which was disappointing, because we had let him down. We didn’t know the ins and outs, but we had to take his decision and get on with it.
“When Roddy came in, it was fun, it was an experience. None of us knew Roddy, because he had just come back from Carlisle in England and none of us knew what to expect. It ended up that we were told that all of us were playing for our futures at the club. In the end, he kept six of us, and at the time, I thought I was one of the lucky ones staying, but it just didn’t materialise after that. He had his own ideas and brought in his own players, but it didn’t work out and we ended up getting relegated.”
O’Connor didn’t go with them though, and instead decided to follow Collins to Shamrock Rovers. However, it was a year that once again ended in relegation heartbreak for the midfielder. “I had a couple of offers, but Roddy had taken the Rovers job, so I decided to go there and give it a shot with them. The relegation was very disappointing, especially losing in the playoff. We should have never been in that position with some of the players that we had, the likes of Jason Gavin, Jason McGuinness and Paddy McCourt. I don’t know, maybe the situation with the club going into administration had an effect. Rovers were going through a hard time, but the fans still came out and it was great to play for the club. It was a good experience, but we got relegated, so that meant the season wasn’t worth anything. I was very disappointed, because we thought we had enough to beat Dublin City in the playoff, but it wasn’t to be.”
Cathal remained with the Hoops for the beginning of their first season in the lower tier, but after finding it difficult to break into Pat Scully’s team, O’Connor departed to Dundalk in the July transfer window. “When you’re a footballer, you want to play games. At Rovers, I worked hard and pre-season was good, but I was in and out of the team. I wasn’t playing much, Pat felt others were doing better and he wanted other players coming in in the transfer window, so when I got the call from John to come up here, I was very happy. The set-up here is brilliant, you have everything you want. Obviously, they’re trying to progress the club on and are taking it step by step, and you can see the improvements, with the playing staff, the facilities and the support that’s coming through. The crowds that we get here are brilliant and it’s a joy to play in front of. Everyone seems to be working behind the scenes and everything is great. Training is the same, the gear is laid out when we come in, and it all adds up to a positive feeling.”
This is the third time Cathal has worked under Gill, having previously spent time with him at both Kildare and Dublin City. So, what’s his thoughts on Dundalk’s ‘Miracle Manager’? “John is so positive, he lives for football and he’s so into it. His determination and his focus on what he wants to achieve and what he wants to achieve for the players and the club is unbelievable. I’ve known John since I was 19 and I’ve played under him at two clubs before here. He’s a great manager and is improving as time goes by, you just have to look at his record here, unbeaten at home in over a year. His focus and work ethic really rubs off on players, and that makes him very enjoyable to work under, both himself and Gerry (Scully).”
Indeed, Gill achieved promotion with Dundalk in his first season at the helm, only to be denied by the IAG decision of 11 December. O’Connor, in a rare starting appearance, played in the second leg of the playoff win over Waterford United, a victory which should have earned promotion. It was not to be, however, and ‘Cotsy’ admits: “It was very disappointing, even though I knew it would be iffy whether we went up or not. When I heard about it, I was gutted for all the lads who were here, because they went on such a great run and had won the playoff. To be then told that we weren’t promoted was extremely disappointing, for the club as well, because they had put a lot of effort in. But that’s the way it goes I suppose. The only thing I’d like now is to go up as champions. If we can get promoted this year, we’ll all be delighted, even if it is a year late. After last year and going so close, the thing now is to win the league.”
