Ger Nash: From a playing career cut short to an FAI Cup final at 39
Nash worked alongside Mick McCarthy at Ipswich between 2012 and ‘18, and he credits much of his coaching journey to the former Ireland manager’s guidance.
WHEN CORK CITY booked their place in the FAI Cup final, one of the messages arriving on Ger Nash’s phone came from his defining managerial influence.
Mick McCarthy’s text was part congratulations and part rallying cry: ‘You’ve got to win it now!’
The duo crossed paths at Ipswich Town, the club Nash joined as a teenager in 2002.
By that time, the Leixlip-native had shown sufficient leadership potential to be rewarded with the captain’s armband by Ireland U17 manager Brian Kerr, who commended him as a “commanding centre-back”.
However, his footballing career was cut short, at just 20 years old, by a series of knee operations. “He is a champion, and if he were my son, I would be proud of him,” said club manager Joe Royle, who envisioned a future in the game for Nash.
That would come in coaching, and Nash remained at Portman Road for another 15 years in a series of academy roles.
He left for an FAI talent development role before being headhunted to manage Aston Villa U18s. It was then that Nash was first linked to the Cork City job, although Villa reportedly improved his terms to keep him on board for another season.
Swedish club GAIS was his next stop for a first-team coaching role before City revived their interest after Tim Clancy’s departure in May.
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Upon joining the club, Nash questioned the amount of time spent at the training ground.
“Somebody asked me a question the other day, if we get relegated, will we stay full-time? We haven’t been full-time. We’re going to go full-time now,” he said after beating St Pat’s in the Cup semi-final.
Ger Nash celebrates after Cork City defeated Waterford. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
The 39-year-old boss has made a point of implementing double sessions. Players have since identified a doubling down on standards of professionalism, nutrition, and conditioning.
“I’ve worked with a fair share of managers, and he’s very good,” says Fiacre Kelleher, who was made club captain since signing in July.
“He’s intense when we’re training. He likes to work us really hard for the week, which is important because our fitness levels are something that we can definitely improve on for next season. He’s already brought that level up, in fairness to him.
“His tactical awareness of how the opposition sets up and what we can do to hurt them is very good.”
When he took over, Nash inherited a team ninth in the Premier Division table. They fell to 10th after the mid-season break and have remained there for the second half of the year, finishing 15 points adrift from safety.
Amid fan protests against the club ownership and confirmation of City’s relegation, the Cup has been a welcome release valve.
Kelleher believes many of the behind-the-scenes improvements were slow to manifest on the field.
“It demands a lot of concentration. It’s difficult when you’re taking a lot of information all at once. I think that’s why, maybe from the outside, results haven’t changed that much.
“But as a group, we’ve taken on a lot of information, and we’re slowly getting to a place now where his style and things he wants implemented are starting to come to fruition.
“Pre-season after the Cup final is going to be massive for us for next year. We want to really nail the bits that he wants from next year and how he wants us to play.
“A lot has stuck with us. We have a firm game plan, and we know how we want to play for this Cup final already.”
Ger Nash issues instructions against Drogheda United. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Nash has placed a strong focus on homegrown talent. He hailed winger Josh Fitzpatrick as “everything I want the club to be about”, praising the local lad as someone who would “die for this football club”.
The 20-year-old started one game under Clancy this season, in which he was hooked at half-time. He began life under Nash with a string of starts, which has extended to 16 across the campaign.
“Under Tim, I was a bit disappointed. I didn’t play as much games as I would have liked,” says Fitzpatrick.
“As soon as Ger’s come in, he’s really trusted me. He’s put me in most games. I took a lot of confidence from it. I’ve seen it in my game where I’m trying to improve as much as I can every week.
“I’ve been delighted since Ger’s come in. He’s brought a lot of quality to us.
“Bringing (assistant manager) David Meyler’s experience was probably the most valuable thing that we’ve got so far. David Meyler has played at a really high level. He knows what it takes to win games, big games. Because we’re a young group, experience has been a major thing for us.”
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Nash worked alongside McCarthy at Ipswich between 2012 and ‘18, and he credits much of his coaching journey to the former Ireland manager’s guidance.
“Mick’s a man I have a huge amount of respect for and love for,” reflects Nash.
“I’m not sure I’d be here if I wasn’t youth team coach at Ipswich when he came in.
“He was there for six years, and I was fortunate enough to climb the ladder, so to speak, and work much closer with him. I’ve learnt a lot from him and I’ve had a really great time with him.
“First and foremost, there’s his integrity as a man and his integrity with the dressing room.
“I’ve worked with a lot of managers and some really big players, fantastic players, great careers, but if you don’t have that integrity with a group, you’re in trouble.
“It’s his leadership skills as a man and how he leads groups, which is one of the biggest things I took from him.”
Win on Sunday and Nash can carry silverware back to Cork. The penance of First Division football would be elevated by the promise of European competition.
But as McCarthy knows, Cup finals are for winning. Without that uplift, the pressure will only increase in the lower tier next year.
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Ger Nash: From a playing career cut short to an FAI Cup final at 39
WHEN CORK CITY booked their place in the FAI Cup final, one of the messages arriving on Ger Nash’s phone came from his defining managerial influence.
Mick McCarthy’s text was part congratulations and part rallying cry: ‘You’ve got to win it now!’
The duo crossed paths at Ipswich Town, the club Nash joined as a teenager in 2002.
By that time, the Leixlip-native had shown sufficient leadership potential to be rewarded with the captain’s armband by Ireland U17 manager Brian Kerr, who commended him as a “commanding centre-back”.
However, his footballing career was cut short, at just 20 years old, by a series of knee operations. “He is a champion, and if he were my son, I would be proud of him,” said club manager Joe Royle, who envisioned a future in the game for Nash.
That would come in coaching, and Nash remained at Portman Road for another 15 years in a series of academy roles.
He left for an FAI talent development role before being headhunted to manage Aston Villa U18s. It was then that Nash was first linked to the Cork City job, although Villa reportedly improved his terms to keep him on board for another season.
Swedish club GAIS was his next stop for a first-team coaching role before City revived their interest after Tim Clancy’s departure in May.
Upon joining the club, Nash questioned the amount of time spent at the training ground.
“Somebody asked me a question the other day, if we get relegated, will we stay full-time? We haven’t been full-time. We’re going to go full-time now,” he said after beating St Pat’s in the Cup semi-final.
The 39-year-old boss has made a point of implementing double sessions. Players have since identified a doubling down on standards of professionalism, nutrition, and conditioning.
“I’ve worked with a fair share of managers, and he’s very good,” says Fiacre Kelleher, who was made club captain since signing in July.
“He’s intense when we’re training. He likes to work us really hard for the week, which is important because our fitness levels are something that we can definitely improve on for next season. He’s already brought that level up, in fairness to him.
“His tactical awareness of how the opposition sets up and what we can do to hurt them is very good.”
When he took over, Nash inherited a team ninth in the Premier Division table. They fell to 10th after the mid-season break and have remained there for the second half of the year, finishing 15 points adrift from safety.
Amid fan protests against the club ownership and confirmation of City’s relegation, the Cup has been a welcome release valve.
Kelleher believes many of the behind-the-scenes improvements were slow to manifest on the field.
“But as a group, we’ve taken on a lot of information, and we’re slowly getting to a place now where his style and things he wants implemented are starting to come to fruition.
“Pre-season after the Cup final is going to be massive for us for next year. We want to really nail the bits that he wants from next year and how he wants us to play.
“A lot has stuck with us. We have a firm game plan, and we know how we want to play for this Cup final already.”
Nash has placed a strong focus on homegrown talent. He hailed winger Josh Fitzpatrick as “everything I want the club to be about”, praising the local lad as someone who would “die for this football club”.
The 20-year-old started one game under Clancy this season, in which he was hooked at half-time. He began life under Nash with a string of starts, which has extended to 16 across the campaign.
“Under Tim, I was a bit disappointed. I didn’t play as much games as I would have liked,” says Fitzpatrick.
“As soon as Ger’s come in, he’s really trusted me. He’s put me in most games. I took a lot of confidence from it. I’ve seen it in my game where I’m trying to improve as much as I can every week.
“I’ve been delighted since Ger’s come in. He’s brought a lot of quality to us.
“Bringing (assistant manager) David Meyler’s experience was probably the most valuable thing that we’ve got so far. David Meyler has played at a really high level. He knows what it takes to win games, big games. Because we’re a young group, experience has been a major thing for us.”
Nash worked alongside McCarthy at Ipswich between 2012 and ‘18, and he credits much of his coaching journey to the former Ireland manager’s guidance.
“Mick’s a man I have a huge amount of respect for and love for,” reflects Nash.
“He was there for six years, and I was fortunate enough to climb the ladder, so to speak, and work much closer with him. I’ve learnt a lot from him and I’ve had a really great time with him.
“First and foremost, there’s his integrity as a man and his integrity with the dressing room.
“I’ve worked with a lot of managers and some really big players, fantastic players, great careers, but if you don’t have that integrity with a group, you’re in trouble.
“It’s his leadership skills as a man and how he leads groups, which is one of the biggest things I took from him.”
Win on Sunday and Nash can carry silverware back to Cork. The penance of First Division football would be elevated by the promise of European competition.
But as McCarthy knows, Cup finals are for winning. Without that uplift, the pressure will only increase in the lower tier next year.
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