*Flan Sheedy and Paddy Purcell. Photograph: Joe Buckley
PADDY PURCELL has brought the curtain down on his two year tenure as Newmarket Celtic manager which ends an era of twenty eight years involved in men’s football.
Having hung up his playing boots at the age of forty two, Paddy moved straight into management with Celtic where he guided them to a historic first FAI Junior Cup title in his debut season where they also contested the Munster Junior Cup final but lost out to Regional Utd on a penalty shootout. He stepped down as manager of the side and has been succeeded by Eoin O’Brien.
Speaking to The Clare Echo in an exclusive interview, the Oscar Traynor winning captain explained his reasons for stepping down. “I’ve been twenty eight years involved in men’s football, I started playing when I was sixteen, it’s been pretty full tilt since with every Tuesday and Thursday with a Saturday or Sunday, it was something when I stopped playing two seasons ago when I hadn’t planned on going into management at all but I also felt we had unfinished business at Newmarket with what we were trying to do and there was a bit of a void there so I said I’d take on the job for a season, I extended it by one but I hadn’t planned on doing it long-term.
“It was more when I finished playing that I wanted to give time back to the kids coming through but also my own kids because it is hard going on them and Claire too, they are a big part of it coming to all the games but equally the amount of time devoted into it I wanted to give that back to the family. It wasn’t a difficult decision only for it is hard to walk away from a dressing room when you’ve been there with Newmarket for nine seasons but in general pretty much playing football since the age of eight is a big change”.
He admitted that his decision to step down as manager was one he made as far back as last September. “In my heart of hearts I knew, I started a college course in January and that culminating in the last two seasons, my Dad passed away last season and I haven’t even dealt with that properly to be honest in all transparency, my mind was made up and I didn’t let anyone know that because it wasn’t a thing that mattered it was just something I had in the background that I knew I wouldn’t be going beyond this season”.
Given he had reached a verdict on his future so early in the season, one could argue that he felt going back for a second year was a mistake but Paddy disagreed with this stance. “I knew when I went again that it was one more year, it wasn’t a decision that was made, it was just deep down I knew I wasn’t going beyond the second season, I had no sense of regret and I was glad. Having played under a lot of managers with Newmarket and having been there for seven years playing I really wanted to give it everything for the two seasons even though I hadn’t planned on management, it was an easy decision to stay on but with family and work there’s time commitments that you want to spend on and I really want to give more time back to the family so it was a bit easier in that sense, I’ll get to give back more time to the kids and coaching them when I can, I’ve no regrets”.
Reflecting on his dream debut season which saw Celtic win the FAI Junior Cup and secure league honours, Paddy said, “There’s a lot of luck involved overall, it was really just focusing on my beliefs on what I believe works from a manager’s perspective in terms of how you communicate to the players, it was the perfect storm of some of the older lads still there on the squad and some younger lads coming through, the management structure we had with myself, Steve (Austin) and Eoin O’Brien with Sammy (Owen McCarthy) helping out and Martin Cooney as physio, it all culminated in the right way, we stayed fairly level headed through the whole season, we didn’t have any major highs or major lows”.
On a personal note that dream season was tinged with sadness and the absence of Paddy’s biggest supporter from the celebrations, his father John who died in October 2022. “It was ironic, my Dad would have been one of my biggest supporters over my entire career, the year I stopped playing is the year he passed away in October of that year, it was one of those things that was ironic. We had a good bit of luck along the way, we gained players as the season went on, we had a big squad, with a lot of young fellas who were in their first year playing men’s football and at times they didn’t play a lot but they contributed a lot to the season, when you reflect back on it you think what was the one or two things I can’t really put my finger on it”.
Year two of the Purcell regime saw Newmarket suffer early exits from the FAI and Munster Junior Cups while they lost out to Avenue Utd in the Clare Cup final on a penalty shootout and came up short against the Roslevan club in their bid to retain the league. “The team and the squad, management and players have been there for some time, last season was exhausting, we won four trophies this year, the Tom Hand, the President’s Cup, the Munster Champions Cup and the Hugh Kelly so whilst we weren’t as successful overall we still won three trophies that had never been won before in Clare, that in itself is a long time being on the road and I’m very disappointed overall that we didn’t capitalise on the Clare Cup, we weren’t really right at times and didn’t do enough to win the league overall so I wasn’t surprised we didn’t win that. There is a tinge of disappointment this season but also quite happy overall with the two seasons combined, we were in unchartered waters at the start of the season going to play Rockmount, the Northern Irish Junior Cup winners and the Champions Cup itself is a really tough competition to win itself so there are a lot of hard matches over time. Naturally enough if you have won the FAI Junior Cup and had the success we had, you’re on the chopping block and everyone wants a piece of you, teams drawing with you see that as a win so everything is a lot more difficult, if you’re not one hundred percent as sharp as you were as a group then you’re there to be taken down a peg and that was always the case”.
What proved costly in their efforts to hold onto the Premier Division were dropped points to Tulla Utd and Kilrush Rangers plus a home defeat to Bridge Utd, all of which occurred in a short window of time. “It was a funny one, really funny actually, we had a poor fixture congestion in a season where we had far less games to play. We went four weeks without playing a game and our pitch is playable every week so that was definitely a factor in how we ended up coming together in those last four or six weeks which we tripped up, it was that and it was the stop start nature of the second half of the season which we had, it distracted a few players and it distracted the routine of what we had, whilst we tried to maintain it with training sessions and internal challenge matches it’s still not the same as the week in week out competitiveness and that is what caught us more, it is difficult to have four free weekends for lads and keeping them tuned in. I give credit to the players because they did stay tuned in but you can’t replicate proper competitive matches during that time, that is maybe the one thing that did catch up with us for those fixtures and some other elements of maybe lads taking their eye off the ball, you get back what you deserve and as a result of maybe the fixture congestion and how we dealt with that, that is where you drop your points”.
Celtic didn’t strengthen their squad in last year’s transfer window which meant there was no new dimension added to their side. Purcell acknowledged that they could have beefed up their team but also pointed out that they were pleased with the players within their ranks. “It is a hard one because we had a very big squad the first year and we had younger lads who just came out of youths that featured at different times, they didn’t get as much game time as they could have but it is very hard with a team competing to the levels we are competing to, the squad thinned itself out in the off-season, we lost one or two players, it is a hard one, even in year one it wasn’t a case that we went around and tried to sign loads of players, my first year of management we had a handful of players that we went after, other than that we had a good squad and youths players coming through. Maybe, we could have recruited better for the second season but equally we were satisfied enough with what we had overall with the depth of the squad and that some of those youths players were going to step up a bit more, it is hard to draw players out of other leagues to try and come play for you, thankfully a few players had put themselves forward and were knocking on our door to want to come and play for us, some of the players that did sign for us had a good impact on the season but you’re trying to balance the numbers with improving the squad so it is a difficult balance”.
Purcell shared a worry that clubs in Clare may begin or may already be paying players to keep some of the best talent at their disposal. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case (players getting paid), you lose players to other leagues because of that reason, it is something that we have never done and will never do as a club, don’t think it is the right thing to do and I potentially think it is creeping in already and it is not something I would be an advocate of, it is something that isn’t good for the league or for the players, it poisons things a small bit if you ask me, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is happening but I wouldn’t be an advocate of it”.
Another new trend in the second season of Purcell’s tenure were regular attempts by Newmarket’s PRO Liam Murphy to stop all Celtic’s players and mentors from conducting interviews with The Clare Echo. A former columnist with The Clare Champion and frequent contributor to Clare FM, the actions of Murphy are over comments and claims made by a rival manager.
Giving his take on the matter, Paddy said, “I was never too focused on the media side of it really either the publicity or the aftermath, it is great that the publications are there and it is brilliant to have the media reporting on the games but I never use it as a positive or negative detraction. It was the way it was I guess and I had to deal with it during the season”.
Still held in high regard from his League of Ireland days when he played for Waterford Utd and captained Limerick FC, Purcell spoke of the difference between playing and management. “As a player I always found you could focus on yourself overall but of course as a player you’re thinking of the wider group, as a manager the impact of what you to say to people has more weight behind it, how you say it and what you say is one of the things that is a big factor, I didn’t anticipate enjoying it but I really enjoyed it too. I felt when I was picking the bits of all the best managers I had over the years and tried to use that to the best of my ability, that is all I could do and I definitely enjoyed it, you miss getting ready for a match to go and play, you’re helpless on the sideline in terms of what you can do, you can help with instructions but you can’t go out and physically impact the game so that was definitely hard, it was a different challenge and I do enjoy the psychological side”.
Since becoming Newmarket manager, Paddy’s name has been linked with several clubs and last year’s off-season saw him touted to join Fairview. He admitted he does not have a strong desire to go back into management or coaching at present. “I’ve been 28 years involved between playing men’s football and managing, right now I’m looking forward to the break of not having that humdrum, I’m looking forward to going to games and watching them with little interest in the involvement of the game, I’ve had a good few clubs on over the last number of years but I don’t have the appetite for it right now, I want to get a bit of a break and concentrate on the kids and the family, spend more time with them, work is quite busy and I’m doing a college course so I’ve enough on a plate but who knows, a season or two on the sidelines completely might change that”.
“I’ve done my UEFA Youth Certificate, I enjoy the coaching side of it but equally I really prefer the management side of it but that said I’ve an appetite to upskill more on the kids coaching and how that in time will translate to men’s football, I’ve to dip my toe in the water with the Youth Certificate, from playing under managers and coaches I’ve learned a huge amount and I’ve been able to use that over the last two seasons and before that when I was playing, I definitely want to upskill in that area. When I look at the likes of Steve Austin, his capability and what he brings as a coach is phenomenal how he brings things together and the process of that but nobody seeing what the outcome is but you see it in the moment and manifest itself in matches is great to see so definitely I’ve an appetite,” he added.
Purcell said, “I balanced career and football even going back to when I was playing league of Ireland, they went hand in hand but for me it is family, friends, work and football, that is the natural flow of things, first family and work take precedent over it so I don’t really have an appetite right now, I did enjoy it and there’s times when I wonder if I could do it at a higher stage but I don’t really have the drive right now”.
His wife Claire Wehrley herself is a respected soccer coach and has been involved at provincial level with schools as well as numerous set-ups. The secondary school teacher is set for a shock to the system in dealing with Paddy around the house more often. “Even last year when I was contemplating doing a second season because of the various things going on she was pushing me at the door, at the moment she is enjoying having me around more but she might be sick of me by the end of our two week holiday so I could be looking for a job then, who knows. All jokes aside, we are looking forward to getting Sunday mornings back, we spent a good bit of the off-season last year in Lahinch and Clahane enjoying our Sunday mornings so we’re looking forward to doing that now and extending it into the autumn, we’ll have no bother filling the time together”.
