FORMER IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Colin Healy has taken over as Cork City FC’s first-team head coach.
Healy has worked as the Leesiders’ Head of Academy for the past three seasons, nurturing underage talent at the club, while he also had a brief stint in interim charge of the senior team at the end of last season.
Now, it’s been confirmed that the ex-City player will remain as head coach at Turner’s Cross; the side having been relegated to the First Division.
“I am thrilled to get this deal done, it’s a huge opportunity and the hard work starts now,” Healy said. “Myself and John Cotter will now get to work and start speaking to players as soon as possible.
“I expect us to be competitive. There’s a lot of good, loyal players, going to be playing for this club next season, and it’s my job to get the most out of them and play a style of football that gets us the results we need.
“We need to train hard and set a high-standard because this is a tough division, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Healy enjoyed two spells at the club as a player, from 2007 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, making over 150 appearances and winning two FAI Cups, a Setanta Sports Cup and the President’s Cup.
A native of Cork, Healy played youth football with Ballincollig and Wilton United before making the move to Celtic in 1998.
He also earned 13 appearances for Ireland during a career which included spells at Coventry, Livingston, Barnsley and Sunderland.
“This has been a huge week for the club,” club chairman Declan Carey said.
“I don’t need to introduce Colin or talk about his track record in professional football. We had seen a marked improvement in performances when he came in last season, and he is absolutely the right man for the job at this moment in time.
“As a club, we need to set ourselves higher standards, and Colin is going to be critical part of that on the football-side of the business. Myself and Board will support in whatever way we can, and we’re excited to see what he can do with a talented bunch of young players for the next season.”
All the while, the club’s takeover saga continues.
