THE FALL-OUT FROM Stephen Kenny’s sacking had no financial bearing on Shamrock Rovers’ hunt for a new manager, Hoops chairman Jonathan Roche said.
Trevor Croly was officially named as the new man in the Tallaght dug-out yesterday while the rumour mill linked Kenny, who was sacked by Rovers in September less than nine months into a three-year term, with the vacant Dundalk job.
Solicitors acting on Kenny’s behalf lodged papers in the High Court last week in a bid to secure a compensation pay-off from the club for breach of contract.
While Roche is hopeful that the legal wrangle will be resolved soon, he rejected the suggestion that a financial hit had weakened their ability to court a big-name replacement.
“That had no consequence on our decision on a manager,” he told TheScore.ie.
We choose a manager in the best interests of the club going forward which hopefully will deliver the success we’re all used to over the last four or five years.
He added: “Not qualifying for Europe or any other single thing is not going to have any effect on our budget for next year.
“We did very, very well over the last three years, especially in 2011. We’ve managed the money very, very well and we will still have a very strong, competitive budget that can we all stand over at the football club. It’s not really going to have that much of an effect.”
A Hoop during his playing days and number two in Tallaght during Michael O’Neill’s title-winning reign, Croly returns to Rovers after spending 2012 as Liam Buckley’s assistant at St Patrick’s Athletic.
The decision to trust a debutant manager with one of the top jobs in Irish football is seen by some as a gamble, Roche admits, but he pledged full support for Croly.
“A lot of people know Trevor, know his reputation. Obviously people have doubts but doubts are good. Trevor will have his own doubts because it makes you work even harder to make sure you’re successful.
“In the main I think once Trevor puts his team together, with the strong backroom staff that’s been announced and with player signings, the whole club will be 100% behind him.”
Roche added: “We’ve looked in every nook and cranny, but Trevor’s probably staring there in front of us.
What we’ve seen, what he’s done and what we know he’s done at our club over the past few years, we’re really happy with the appointment.
The vocal Rovers support will give him a chance to prove his credentials too, Roche feels.
“I think the fans were really good to be honest over the past three or four years. At Rovers you’re always going to get fans that voice their opinion during matches but I think in the most part, after a match when they sit back on it and reflect, they’re very intelligent and know their game.
“At the end of the day most of them want what’s best for the club.”
