No coaching manuals steeled Jon Daly for the challenges he encountered at Dundalk.
Maintaining morale amid uncertainty regarding whether wages would be paid.
Players in arrears to landlords; others fearing their homes could be repossessed.
Star men departing, requiring a mid-season rebuild when the club were already mired in a relegation battle.
Ireland’s second-most successful club – sighing under the weight of seven-figure debts and close to liquidation in September before investment by local businessman John Temple and his consortium – were ultimately relegated.
As their plight was confirmed following a 2-0 defeat to Derry City at Oriel Park on October 19, it was reported that a row broke out in the Main Stand between several parties, including former owner Andy Connolly and Temple.
That rather exemplified the tumultuous conditions in which Daly, his coaches and players were working.
Daly: I tried to do my homework
“You always try to do your homework regarding the situation you are walking into,” Daly told Courier Sport, reflecting on his decision to take the reins at Oriel Park just a fortnight after being dismissed by St Patrick’s Athletic.
“On the playing side of things, I looked at the squad and believed it was a decent group that could get results.”
That group, however, quickly evaporated.
The list of summer departures was littered with players who had regularly featured during the first half of the 2024 campaign: Scott High, Zak Bradshaw, Archie Davies, Louie Annesley, former St Johnstone defender Hayden Muller and goalkeeper George Shelvey.
“We lost a lot of players that I didn’t anticipate,” continued Daly. “So that was tough and forced us into a lot of changes in the personnel. It was a rebuilding job in the middle of a season, which is incredibly difficult to do.”
Financial crisis hits home
For those who did remain with the Lilywhites, the financial concerns at the club, who posted a loss of around £1 million in 2023, became apparent in September when staff were not paid.
Daly was unable to give his squad clarity on when that would be resolved.
“The players were always professional – I can’t say enough good things about them – and they gave everything they could to put things right,” he continued. But other things will always be in the back of the mind. Like, when are you going to get paid?
“You are dealing with human beings.
“There’s a very small minority of footballers who earn the sort of money that can set you up for life, whereas we are talking about wages that are around the average.
“When that stops, there are still bills to pay, mouths to feed and guys with families. Some of the players were in rented accommodation and had landlords on their backs about unpaid rent.
“Others are thinking about whether the house could get taken off them.
“We tried to take that pressure away from them when they came into training and on matchdays, but you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t hanging over us.”
Highs and lows
Dundalk won three of Daly’s 18 games in charge, ultimately finishing bottom of the pile by an eight-point margin. He swiftly declared that he would not be part of the rebuild, returning to spend time with his family in Scotland.
The 41-year-old added: “A year earlier, I was lifting the FAI Cup with St Pat’s.
“Suddenly, you are at a club in financial difficulties getting relegated. I’ve experienced the highs and lows in very quick succession, and you’ve got to take the lessons from all of it.”
Daly aims to ‘reflect and improve’
Indeed, relegation represented the nadir of a tumultuous 12 months.
In November 2023, Daly was the toast of Inchicore after leading St Patrick’s Athletic to FAI Cup glory in front of 43,000 fans at the Aviva Stadium, an achievement he described as “an unbelievable family memory”.
That counted for little six months later when he was dismissed with the club in seventh spot, albeit only six points adrift of joint-second place Shamrock Rovers and Derry City.
The blunt truth is St Pat’s have been vindicated. The appointment of ex-Ireland and Dunfermline boss Stephen Kenny resulted in an upturn of fortunes that ultimately saw them finish third and secure European qualification.
“I think it’s important to learn from every situation, whether it’s good or bad,” Daly continued. “There are always things you can reflect on and try to improve in the future. It’s all part of developing as a coach and a manager.
“We left a good squad up there (at St Pat’s). It was a challenge to replace the guys from the FAI Cup-winning squad and it was always going to take time to gel.
“I believed we would have turned it around, but that decision was taken out of my hands. As I expected, one that squad clicked and everyone was fit, they’ve gone on to have a good season.”
What next?
After four years working in Ireland, the opportunity to spend some family time with wife Linda and daughters Sophie and Shannon is a precious one. Daly is in no rush to dive headlong into his next role; perhaps the mistake when he took on the Dundalk job.
Nevertheless, a rollercoaster period has done nothing to dampen his belief or enthusiasm.
“I’m not closed-minded,” added Daly, who has also coached at Hearts and TPS Turku of Finland.
“If someone was to ring up looking for help on their coaching staff, I would have no issue with that. I’ve done that before and I love planning and running sessions – helping players to get better.
“And I’m still open to a managerial role. I won’t be pigeon-holing myself.
“Football is all I’ve known since I was 15, and I believe I can add value. I’ll take stock, have a look around and see what the next step is.”
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