IRELAND DEFENDER DARREN O’Dea believes the arrival of Ryan Nelsen as Toronto FC’s head coach is a significant coup by the club.
Nelsen is in the middle of a Premier League relegation battle wit QPR but will head for Canada in the coming months where a job at the MLS club beckons.
The 35-year-old, who spent four years in the league with DC United before arriving in England, will take over from former Ipswich and Arsenal striker Paul Mariner after the Reds finished bottom of the Eastern Conference last season.
Dubliner O’Dea made the move from Celtic in August and although he admits the change of scenery is tough to adjust to initially, he thinks Nelsen can be a success with the help of new chief executive Kevin Payne.
“Over in the league (MLS) you’ll find from year to year there are a load of changes in the squads,” he told Sky Sports yesterday. “The most successful teams can bed the squad in and keep hold of them for three, four, five years.
Toronto haven’t managed that yet. It’s still a very young club, it’s only been in existence for seven years. It’s time now that the club beds some roots in and certainly with the new president Kavin Payne, who has a proven track record, and bringing in a man with a wealth of experience is the right way to go.
“Even for a top Premier League manager coming over to MLS, it’s a completely different league. The way it is run is different so it will be very tough but the most important thing is he (Nelsen) has played in the league for four years and been successful in that time.
“At every club he’s been a captain or a leader so I’m sure he’ll take it in his stride and I’m certainly looking forward to working with him.
“We’re still probably three or four players short but there are different draft picks and trades to be done. Hopefully the president will bring in the right players to make us a successful club.”
O’Dea has been back in Scotland and training with Motherwell to keep himself ticking over during the off-season but is itching to get back having only been involved in the latter stages of the 2012 campaign.
I love it (in Toronto),” he added. “I used it as a settling in period and this season I’m going over to be successful. These appointments are all pointing in the right direction and I’m really looking forward to getting back into it.”
As well as getting himself right for the start of the MLS season, O’Dea will have one eye on Ireland’s upcoming fixtures, which begin with a friendly against Poland in Dublin on February 6 before two massive World Cup qualifiers with Sweden and Austria the following month.
