Tim Clancy set for UEFA Pro Licence

Trim man Tim Clancy is one of 20 coaches, and the first Meath man, who has been accepted onto the 2020/2022 UEFA Pro Licence course that will be run by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) it was announced last week.

There was intense competition from some 90 applicants for the sought-after 20 places and a total of 35 applicants completed the theory exams and interview process before the final selection process was completed.

The course will be delivered over an 18-month period that will include international club visits, a study visit to UEFA HQ and individual club assessments.

This latest UEFA Pro Licence course had an individual online induction last week with the group set to get together for the first block in November 2020.

Clancy will be in good company with former Irish internationals John O’Shea and Andy Keogh and former Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini in the line up.

Waterford man O’Shea earned 118 caps during a playing career that saw him lead his country out at EURO 2016.

He is currently first-team coach with Reading in the English Championship, having previously completed his UEFA B & A certificates with the FAI, and was recently appointed as assistant coach to the Republic of Ireland u-21 team.

Keogh worked his way up the coaching ladder and the 30-times capped Republic of Ireland forward had been coaching in Perth, Australia and playing in the A-League for Perth Glory. He recently played in India for North East United FC.

Hayes is Lead Professional Development Phase Coach for Charlton Athletic’s u-17s and u-18s while Sweden is where Sean O’Shea is assistant coach at AIK Stockholm.

Ross is assistant coach for the Republic of Korea Women’s National Team – working alongside former Ireland Women’s manager Colin Bell.

TIM CLANCY

The Meath man had a lengthy career as a professional footballer in England and Scotland before a return to the League of Ireland with Shamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers and Bray Wanderers. He finished the 2017 season with the Wicklow club.

That exposure to the League of Ireland would have been beneficial for Clancy as he took his first tentative managerial steps with Louth club Drogheda Utd and while not claiming any silverware, has had a successful start to his career.

He stepped into the hot seat at Drogheda in December 2017 and was immediately tasked with the job of assembling a squad for the 2018 season that, at that stage, was only about 12 weeks away.

It was a challenge as Drogheda had been relegated from the Premier Division at the end of 2017 and were operating on a tight budget in 2018 as far as player recruitment was concerned.

Clancy took Drogheda to the promotion play-offs in 2018 losing out to Finn Harps who went on to secure that much sought-after promotion place beating Limerick in the play-off final.

Last season Clancy took Drogheda a step further, to the play-off final, but once again they lost out to Harps in the two-legged play-off final.

Clancy was briefly linked with the vacancy at Dublin club Shelbourne, but opted to stay with the Louth club and made a good start to the 2020 season that is now on hold due to Covid-19.

Clancy outlined his introduction to management at the Louth club in an interview with the Meath Chronicle and how he was delighted to take the opportunity.

"The appointment came about fairly quickly at the end of 2017, I was offered the job and it was something that I wanted to do, managing and coaching, there are only a small number of managerial positions available in this country at League of Ireland level and I couldn't turn down a chance like that,” he stated.

“Geographically, Drogheda was ideal for me also and it turned out well for everyone, for me as a first-time manager and for Drogheda who were prepared to take a chance," he added.

Drogheda appear to have recruited the right man for the job and that was reflected in the awards that were handed out at the end of last season.

Clancy scooped the First Division Manager of the Year award at the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland's (PFAI) annual awards night in Dublin.

A significant achievement in only his second year in management.

When asked about comparisons between the League of Ireland and the Leagues in England, Clancy is well-positioned to comment.

"A lot of people try to compare the League of Ireland to football in the UK and you can't make that comparison,” he stated emphatically.

"Football is an industry in England and Scotland and that's not the way it is in Ireland.

“More exposure in the media would be a big help, but we have to create a better atmosphere at games, similar to what the rugby does, a family environment for an enjoyable night out.

“Better facilities are required to make it more attractive and comfortable and that will entice more supporters.

“My dad used to bring me to Tolka Park to watch Shelbourne on a Friday night in the 1990s and it was always a great atmosphere, it was the best stadium around at the time," he added.

RUDD DOKTER

FAI High Performance Director Ruud Dokter feels that Irish football will gain from having more highly-skilled coaches complete their education and transfer that knowledge back to the players that they work with on a daily basis.

"The UEFA Pro Licence is the highest coaching certification in Europe and is recognised all around the world," he commented.

"A UEFA Pro Licence coach is amongst a select group of the very best coaches.

"It is fantastic to have 20 excellent participants come through the application process to be part of our next group and I would like to congratulate them and wish them the very best of luck.

"The course has been upgraded and improved greatly since the FAI first hosted it in 2009, which is in line with modern-day coaching practices and UEFA guidelines.

"It is great credit to Niall O'Regan and his team in our Coach Education Department for continuing to raise the standards for our coaches.

"We are excited to help this group of coaches reach the next level in their respective careers.

"We believe that Irish football, as a whole, will benefit from the experience and skills that the participants gain from participating on this course," he concluded.

NIALL O'REGAN

According to the FAI, the calibre of coaches coming through the Coach Education continues to improve with 92 UEFA A Licence coaches, 78 UEFA B Licence coaches, and 36 UEFA Elite Youth A Licence coaches all graduating in 2019.

With his department engaging with over 10,000 coaches each year, FAI Head of Coach Education Niall O’Regan believes the progression of coaches through the system can be reflected in the group confirmed for the UEFA Pro Licence.

“I am delighted to see the number of coaches within the next UEFA Pro Licence group having completed a number of our UEFA Licence courses previously,” said O’Regan.

“It is also great to see coaches who received very specific feedback having not been accepted in the previous course, implementing that feedback and now entering the 2020-2022 course, which really identifies their engagement but also how successful the process of providing feedback to coaches has been.

"It was great to meet with each of the coaches last week via video calls, with Craig Sexton (Coach Education Coordinator) also involved as we mapped out the journey between now and working to completion," he added.

PARTICIPANTS

The 2020/22 UEFA Pro Licence participants are: Tim Clancy, Dan Connor, Carlo Cudicini, Kevin Doherty, Daire Doyle, Tom Elmes, Anthony Hayes, Ruairdhi Higgins, Denis Hyland, Graham Kelly, Andy Keogh, Ian Morris, John O’Shea, Sean O’Shea, Aidan Price, Matthew Ross, John Russell, Ian Ryan, Alan Murphy, James Scott.