We must trust Ciaran Kilduff's judgement on a player

It was a bitterly cold day last Wednesday as I drove through the streets of Dundalk. I was on my way to do an interview with a Dundalk FC legend and fellow broadcaster John Murphy.

As everybody knows John is also a legendary broadcaster with Dundalk FM. I spent nine years working on local pirate radio station Boyneside Radio, in the eighties.

I then became a news and sports journalist with LMFM radio in August 1989, when local radio stations were legalised that year. My job was to do weekend news and cover all of Dundalk FC games live both away and at home.

Sadly for me, my broadcasting days ended in October 2017, when the station introduced redundancies. There were new owners.

In my reasonably long-term experience in radio, I never secured the legendary status John has. He has been working with Dundalk FM since around 2005 when it started. John has built up a huge following. He is the real deal.

John has done it on the field. Now he is doing it off the field through his legendary commentaries. But John also has a unique way of reading the games. His understanding of the game is also unique. John will also speak his mind on air.

If he sees something wrong on or off the pitch, he will say it. I have spoken to John many times for this column for his views on all things Dundalk FC.

Last Wednesday was no different. I felt it was time to touch base with Dundalk's Mr Soccer and get his feelings on the season ahead and how Dundalk are rebuilding.

It was a huge relief to get out of the freezing weather and into the warmth and heat of John's house. He is the most knowledgeable man I know on Irish soccer. This is in the past and present.

He has also had such an illustrious career in the game that there is never a time when he does not come up with an amazing story.

John sits down and we start our discussion. He tells me that once Christmas is over all fans look to the start of the new season. ''This starts on 14th February.

Before that there is the Leinster Senior Cup game against Malahide United and Usher Celtic. Down through the years fans including myself all look forward to the first league game. This has become the way since summer football has come in.

First of all, I am very thankful that we will have football in Oriel this year. I was there that day in October when we were waiting on a decision about the future of the club.

The question we were all asking was, were we playing or were we out of football? I was delighted as an ex-footballer and as a supporter now that there is going to be football in Oriel Park.

It's only when you see something bad in football when you see the strength of your supporters. They have come out in their numbers and have done wonderful things already to keep us in the game.

"The fans are the people that one thinks about. They are the people who have the memories and who pay through the turnstiles. The fans are the people that the club must get on board with, this year.

This is because it's going to be very important. It's so important that everybody is singing off the same hymn sheet now going into the new season. This includes the 1903 Supporters Club, the Dundalk FC Trust and of course the owner John Temple.

Meanwhile, Ciaran Kilduff has been working very hard in the background, building his squad for the new season. Ciaran is a young man who I am sure will want to give something back to Dundalk, having achieved so much here as a player.

He, like me, has great memories of his time here. I would always love to give something back because of the good memories I have from here. I am sure Ciaran feels the same.

''It's the right way to have a manager. It's great to have a young manager who is hungry and who wants to give something back. Ciaran will be hungry for success. But it is not going to be as easy as people think.

Even one season in the First Division is a long journey back. I think Ciaran Kilduff is the right man for the job. It's better having a hungry man like that in charge that wants to succeed and who wants to give something back.

When a club has a manager like that I think you can get the best out of him. Dundalk will be missed in the Premier Division as will their supporters. Dundalk do not want to be down in the First Division for too long.

We are going to miss being in the Premier Division. There will be no Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne or Pats coming. It's going to be a very long season.

The sad fact is that the First Division gets no national coverage. You will hardly see a scoreline in the Dublin newspapers. The main coverage will come from the local media.

They are the ones who will give Dundalk the much-needed attention. People should realise that it is the local media who create the attention on the club for supporters.

''We must trust Ciaran Kilduff's judgement on a player. Naturally enough we all think we are great managers off the field. There is one thing I always look for in a player and that's potential.

I look particularly for the potential in young players. If there is potential there, then that's the manager's job to get it out of him. There is good potential in the players Ciaran has already signed.

I am depending on the manager's experience as a player to get people in, that will do a job for Dundalk. Daryl Horgan and Aodh Dervan are seasoned and good players to have in the centre of midfield.

Daryl is a great player to have as a captain. You need a player in your team in whom the younger players have a shoulder to cry on.

They need to have someone during a game on the team to whom they can look for motivation and encouragement if things are not going well.

''Ciaran Killduff is a man who inspires confidence. He knows how to motivate a team. We have to show him trust in the players that he has signed. It's also all about belief.

Ciaran has shown great belief in the players that he has signed. This is so important. It's not easy being a manager. I did it myself.

It can be a very lonely place standing in the middle of a football field when the game is not going according to plan. But Ciaran Kilduff is a new dude going into football. He knows the ins and outs.

To stand amongst the middle of a football is also not easy. You can have players challenging you asking you what you would know. The manager must have the answer on the tip of his tongue to tell his players where they are going wrong.

Ciaran Kilduff must be able to help players improve their game so he can earn their respect. The players are all very young players up there.

Kilduff must show his players that he can do something for them. They will all want to be made better players by the manager.

''Ciaran Kilduff will be under pressure straight away from the opening game. Everybody will expect Ciaran to get Dundalk straight back up. Dundalk has a great name from the Premier Division and from being in Europe when they were there.

But that is all forgotten about now. We are in the First Division. This is 2025. The aim is to get Dundalk out of this league. But it is not going to be easy.

And I want to stress that despite the feel-good factor there is towards the club at the moment among supporters. That can change very quickly if the results on the pitch are not going well.

But there is always a hard corps of supporters who will follow the club, win, lose or draw. Even through the Kenny days, the young players knew nothing but success.

But that's not how it is in football, when I played for Dundalk, we were lucky enough to win a league. It was the first one in thirty-one years. I won very few other trophies in my time at Dundalk.

We have to believe that Ciaran Kilduff can do something for us. We also must believe that John Temple and his committee believe that the Dundalk management team can do something for the club.

If as I said at the start that everybody is working off the same page, we will have a far better chance to get promotion this year.

Hopefully, we can hold onto our supporters this season. But even during the Kenny years, we never had any more than 3,500 supporters attending games.

''All we can hope for is that Ciaran Kilduff has the know-how to get the best out of the team to get us out of the division. It would also be great to have success for the supporters.

It would be great if we are sitting here a year from now that we are back in the Premier Division. That's my New Year's wish for Dundalk. Hopefully, that will come true.

But remember you get back out of football what you put into it. The first Division is a much more physical league than the Premier Division.

It's so difficult to get out of it, It took the last team eight seasons to get promotion. I think the academy players that do get game time in the First Division will do well.

They are not going to get it all of their own way of course. If the manager sees some potential in the players then they will do well.

The younger players should also listen to the older players, they give advice to them as to how can improve their game. Younger players can always learn a lot from the veterans''.

On the Dundalk goalkeeping situation, John believes that Dundalk have got a good keeper in Enda Minogue this season.''Hopefully, we have learned over the mistakes in the recruitment of keepers from last season.

Let's be honest we let Nathan Shepherd go and brought in three poor keepers that were just not up to standard.

We had a man there in Peter Cherrie who if he had have gone in and maybe if we had have kept Pat Hoban, we would not be sitting here today talking about First Division football.

We would be talking about the Premier Division. But that's all water under the bridge now. How strong or weak a team's goalkeepers are critical. One mistake can lead to a goal and losing.

A great save can lead to three points and a win. Ciaran Kilduff believes in his keepers this season. That can lead to success and help to get us out of Division One.

''As I keep saying to you, it's so important to get the spine of the team right. We did not do that last season. It's great to see Mayowa back at the centre of the defence. He is still only a very young player.

But he has a vast amount of experience. There are a lot of players who will be looking to Mayowa for confidence. And if the captain and manager let Mayowa know how well he is doing, it will be worth its weight in gold to his confidence.

Mayowa is a local. When I was playing with Dundalk up to 500 people would follow me and let me know how I was doing. Mayowa will have to face the public as well as he is from Dundalk.

He will not want to hear from people if he has not had a good game. But I am sure this young player will continue to progress in Dundalk. Mayowa can also set the standards for the younger players. That will be high and will run right through the team.''

''It's very important that Dundalk get off to a good start. The win over Athlone would be a great shot in the arm. What's most important is that we string a good set of results together from the start.

It's also important that the manager learns from the pre-season friendlies, what is his best system that he will use in the league games. He must get to know his players.

He must not ask players to do something that they have never done. He must ask the players to do something that they can do. If he can get a team that can develop a good system and confidence, then Dundalk will be okay this year.

Of all the pre-season friendlies the game against Drogheda at the end of the month will be the best learning curve for the manager. But Kilduff will learn the pluses and minuses of his team in all the pre-season games.

That's why they are played. But the main thing is that the manager is able to put out his best team against Athlone. It's also important that he is able to develop a system by then.

He needs to have the players knowing how to play that system and also have the players knowing how to back it up. He must have the players working for each other. If the manager can do that, then Dundalk are on the pig's back.

Dundalk played their first preseason game on Saturday against League Champions Shelbourne at the AUL grounds in North County Dublin. The Oriel Park side were beaten 1-0. The goal was scored by former Dundalk player Raheen Tulloch.

Dundalk's latest signing Sean McHale played. He has been signed on loan from Pats. He had a very good half. The manager played two different sets of players for each half.

Dundalk's first-half side had an average age of just 19, while in the second half, academy stars Calum Woods and Sean Speight formed part of the back four. In total from the 22 players used, ten of the players have come through Dundalk's Academy.

Manager Ciaran Kilduff was delighted with the way his side had played. ''It was a great day's work. I could not have asked for more. We are into pre-season.

It's so early in January and you are getting a great test against Shelbourne on their own training ground. We got 22 players on the pitch. We had a lot of 15,16 and 17-year-olds, stuff that they would not get in a training session.

You get to see them in games against top opposition. Many of the players really impressed. We took a lot of positives from the game. I could not have asked for more. It's hard to replicate games.

Our lads were going toe-to-toe with some of the top players in the country. To do that and put on a performance like we did at times, create chances like we did, and the energy levels we showed, I think the lads went away knowing they put in a good morning's work.

We are still missing a couple of players with niggles and injuries and Shels were probably the same. At this stage of pre-season, to get a challenge and test like that was great''.

''In the second half I had Sean Spaight and Calum Woods playing and beside them was our new on-loan signing Sean McHale. This was Sean's first time meeting the group.

So we were such a new group playing together. I told the players before the game that it was about getting a good pre-season training in, and I feel we definitely did that.

We saw the gelling and the relationships forming at such an early stage. We are still a good bit away from being a well-oiled machine. But we are on the right path. That is for certain.

''The new players are showing why they are coming in with their attitude, and if you look at the way we did it today, all the Academy players are getting seen.

The new players are young, hungry, energetic and are buying into the way we want to play.'' Dundak's next game is in the Leinster Senior Cup against Malahide United in Oriel Park with a 7.45 kick-off. Next Monday Dundalk will play Usher Celtic in the same competition at Oriel Park, next Monday with a 7.45 kick-off.

There were reports in mid-week that Richie Towell was definitely returning to Oriel Park. Two weeks ago media reports said that Dundalk had turned down a chance to sign the former Dundalk midfielder.

A few days later Dundalk boss Ciaran Kilduff confirmed to me that he had spoken to Richie. He did not rule out a return for Richie. But he did say it was highly unlikely.

A return to Oriel the manager said for Towell would only happen if there was a change in certain conditions at the club. Ciaran said he had spoken to Richie in the same way he had spoken to many others.

Towards the end of the week, one media outlet reported that it seemed Towell was returning. It said that Dundalk had made an offer to Richie. The vibes seemed to be good that Richie was returning.

But over the weekend came news that Towell would not be returning. Whoever made the decision whether it was Dundalk or Richie, I was not surprised. Richie is 33 years of age.

He would still have much to offer a team. But for Dundalk, I think the decision was best for both parties. I wish Richie all the best for next season.

The memories he has left us as being part of the Kenny's Kids great teams will never be forgotten. He truly was one of the Oriel Greats.

Robbie Benson looks set for Derry City. He is training with the team at the moment. The vibes look good for him that he will be given a contract. I wish Robbie all the best.

Meanwhile, Patrick McEleney has returned to Derry City as a coach having played just one game for Ballymena United. Patrick signed for the Antrim club after Drogheda beat Derry City in the Cup final in December.

He was only available to start playing in January when the window opened. But at that stage, new Derry boss Tiarnan Lynch approached Patrick and asked him to return in a coaching capacity. Full credit to Ballymena for not standing in Patrick's way. He is now back at the Brandywell.

Meanwhile, the Derry Journal has reported that former Dundalk striker Daniel Kelly has admitted that he struggled mentally during his time at the Brandywell after he completed a move back to Dublin with Shelbourne.

Daniel has insisted that his decision to move was for non-footballing reasons having struggled mentally on Foyleside last season.

The 28-year-old found it difficult to settle in the north west and a string of disappointing performances coupled with a knee injury which ended his season prematurely, compounded matters.

Daniel approached then-Derry manager Ruaidhri Higgins and then City CEO Sean Barrett, explaining he was not happy and asked to be released from his contract at the end of the season before a move to Shelbourne was on the cards.

Derry City obliged Daniel, despite new boss Tiarnan Lynch's best efforts to keep Daniel. The former Dundalk player was intent on returning closer to his girlfriend and family.

Will Patching has moved from Derry City to Carlisle United. The former Dundalk midfielder says he is grateful to the League of Ireland for the help it gave him in moulding into the player he is. Patching was brought to Dundalk in 2020. He is now back home in Manchester.

Have a safe week. Be careful out there. Please look after each other.