David Sneyd

A SLIVER OF delicate gossip to begin with.

No names will be used and identities – respectfully – suitably protected.

One influential figure at a League of Ireland club was recently detailing some of the intricacies that can be involved in recruiting a new manager, and the importance of the interview process to weed out those candidates who look good on paper – and elsewhere – but are unable to quite translate this when it comes to face-to-face interaction.

He used the example of a former international player who had reached the final shortlist for a job that was available in the not-too-distant past.

He was young, would instantly command the respect of players, and while he had no direct League of Ireland experience his willingness to even go for a job in the Premier Division drew enough hope from the club that they might be able to pull off a coup.

They were excited, hopeful that a left-field arrival could provide a spark of hope.

And then he turned up.

The man in question landed in Dublin, and it was clear the depth of his presentation amounted to asking for the Wi-Fi password so he could rattle off details from his Wikipedia page or throw his name into YouTube for a highlights compilation.

He would have also needed to ask for a lend of a laptop from the club as the candidate travelled light, wearing just the jeans and hoodie on his back without so much as a folder.

The club representative later joked that he didn’t even bluff his way through the interview enough to suggest the preparation was already done in his head. The interview was short and a disaster, and perhaps it’s no surprise that the person in question has not got a job elsewhere since.

The lack of preparation was matched only by the absence of respect for the club, or perhaps simply a blind sense of his own importance and stature.

A former Premier League player, but that’s no use at all in an age when coaches and managers at all levels have never needed to go through as much formal education to get where they are.

You may fall into coaching, as someone like Damien Duff admitted, but unless you put in the graft you will quickly fall on your face from that point on.

Management, of course, is about so much more than what is learned on those Uefa courses, and this came to mind earlier in the week when it was announced by the FAI that players from Shamrock Rovers had got the ball rolling on a “Player Education Programme” pilot.

As detailed in the press release, this was launched for “players who expressed interest in accessing formal coach development qualifications with the FAI through a club-based approach.”

Rovers’ players Lee Grace, Jack Byrne, Enda Stevens, Dylan Watts, Tunmise Sobowale, Graham Burke, Matt Healy, John McGovern, Danny Grant and Jake Mulraney recently began the qualification process by enrolling on the Uefa B Licence.

On their days off, the players have been encouraged by head coach Stephen Bradley and his staff to participate in a pilot scheme that allows them take these tentative steps in an environment they are comfortable in.

St Patrick’s Athletic are next up to take part.

Everything from here on will test their abilities to translate the knowledge they have accumulated as players and effectively utilise this in a career as either a coach or manager.

For the latter, there is probably a handy Venn diagram somewhere that illustrates how emotional intelligence, character judgement, empathy, ruthlessness and decisiveness all intersect.

Maybe Bradley’s face would be in the middle of that too given he is the most successful example over the best part of the last decade, while at the other end of the table, Sligo Rovers’ boss John Russell also appears to share those same traits.

As midfielder Jad Hakiki told The 42 earlier this season, the Bit O’Red manager has the uncanny knack of knowing the right thing to say at the right time to bring a sense of a composure, exuding a feeling of being in control and capable of guiding his players through whatever storm they are engulfed by. The visit of bottom club Waterford tomorrow will be another test of those qualities as Sligo look to pull further clear in ninth and climb up the table.

This power of calm for a manager should never be mistaken as a lack of personality.

The clarity that comes with working to a certain standard every day is what leads to the ultimate rewards, and over the course of a long season that will always come to the fore. It is a shared truth no matter what end of the table you look at.

Fixtures (All kick-offs 7.45pm unless stated)

Premier Division: Shelbourne v Derry City; Drogheda United v St Patrick’s Athletic; Shamrock Rovers v Bohemians (Live on Virgin Media, 8pm); Dundalk v Galway. Tomorrow: Sligo Rovers v Waterford.

First Division: Kerry v Treaty United; Cobh Ramblers v Longford Town; UCD v Finn Harps; Athlone Town v Bray Wanderers; Cork City v Wexford.