THEIR RECRUITMENT DURING the off-season has probably been more impressive than any other SSE Airtricity League club.
But getting so close to Premier Division title success last season hasn’t prompted Cork City to overstretch their budgets in the hope of going one step further in 2015.
That’s according to manager John Caulfield, who has added former Irish international duo Alan Bennett and Liam Miller to his squad, along with the likes of Gavan Holohan, Karl Sheppard and Kieran Djilali.
A promising Cork City squad brought the title race to the very final day last October, before a 2-0 defeat at Oriel Park saw them finish two points behind Dundalk in the table.
Between them, Bennett and Miller have accumulated 23 international caps and over 400 appearances in the UK, but they’ve opted to bring their experience home to Cork from AFC Wimbledon and Australia’s Melbourne City respectively.
“I’m happy with the players I’ve brought in, you’re just hoping that they gel into the team. Last year’s team worked really hard and there was a great spirit among them. So we’re hoping the new fellas can buy into that,” Caulfield told The42.
“We addressed positions on the pitch where we needed to strengthen and I think we’ve done that. I needed strength in depth because our squad last year didn’t have that. When we had a number of suspensions and injuries, the quality of the team dropped off.
“We’ve gained a few experienced guys, which helps too. Alan Bennett has been in the league before so he knows what it’s all about. Liam Miller is different, in that he’s played at the highest level but he’ll find that he’ll have to adjust to our league. I’m hoping that it doesn’t take him too long.”
Alan Bennett’s return could see him re-establish a centre-half partnership with Dan Murray, which was in place when Cork City were last crowned Premier Division champions — in 2005 — although the excellent Darren Dennehy won’t be easily displaced.
City conceded just 18 league goals en route to the title that season. Ten years on, Caulfield hopes Bennett can further improve an already solid defence that was only bettered by Dundalk’s last year.
“Alan is a real leader and a Cork guy, which is great,” said Caulfield. “He really wants to do it for Cork and he’s passionate about the club, so that’s all fantastic. Bringing him in was a no-brainer. He’s come back into the club as if he had never left.
“When you have players of that calibre who can bring such leadership to the training ground and the dressing room, a fella like that is always great to have. We’re fortunate to have him. I’d expect Alan to have a big season for us.”
In relation to that successful Cork City side of 2005 — five of whom are now in the current squad — Caulfield added: “Quite a few of the former players looked at coming back, both last year and this year, and we didn’t take them back because we felt they weren’t in a position to offer us anything.
“I think every manager in the league would be delighted to have an Alan Bennett in their team. People try to write off players when they get to 32 or 33, but that means nothing. It depends on the player; how he looks after himself.
“The experienced guys I have in the team, they’ll look after themselves. A year ago people were suggesting that we should get rid of Colin Healy because he hadn’t played well the previous year, yet last year he was arguably the Player of the Season.”
Overspending forced the club’s holding company out of business in 2010, and despite bringing in big-name players like Bennett and Miller, the manager insists that they haven’t taken any financial risks.
Caulfield said: “If Liam Miller and Alan Bennett weren’t within our budget, they couldn’t come here. We didn’t go overboard to bring any of those guys in. They knew exactly what was on offer. If they didn’t want it, that was fine too.
“The brilliant thing for us was that Liam Miller wanted to come home because he has a young family. It fell into place, it wasn’t a thing about money. Alan Bennett was similar. It had nothing to do with money.
“If Liam Miller was looking for the money that he was on in Australia, then we couldn’t have signed him. It would be an insult for anyone to suggest that these guys were brought in on big money, because they weren’t.”
Cork City’s bid to end a 10-year wait for Premier Division success will begin at The Showgrounds on Saturday night when they face a Sligo Rovers side (7.45pm) who have also strengthened well.
“It’ll be very difficult,” said the City boss. “With Owen (Heary) as manager, Sligo have made some very good signings. It’s a very passionate soccer town and they’re expecting a sell-out crowd, so it’s going to be a brilliant occasion up there. It’s a huge challenge but you have to get results from games like this if you want to be in contention.”
Cork City raised the bar for themselves last year by mounting a title challenge when one wasn’t expected. Caulfield is an immensely popular figure on Leeside — soccer’s equivalent of Jimmy Barry-Murphy — but there’s pressure from the fans to deliver, nevertheless.
He said: “Cork is a real sporting place, whether it’s hurling, football, rugby, soccer… they expect you to do well. The only difference now is that we did well last year and the crowds were good, so I hope it leaves a mark on the players to make them want more of that. I believe we have a squad of players that do want it and I’m hoping they go and prove that.
“I think we’re good enough to challenge for the league but to win it is very difficult. We’ve only won two in our history — 30 years — even though there have been some fantastic Cork teams. But I’ll be very disappointed if we’re not challenging at the end of the season.”
