Drogheda United boss 'not eating or sleeping for the last 48 hours' over club row

STAY UNITED: Drogheda United Manager Kevin Doherty applauds the fans. Pic: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott.

Drogheda boss Kevin Doherty has called on the club to live up to its name and be united once more after admitting he hadn’t been eating or sleeping in the wake of a boardroom fall-out this week.

Co-chairperson and Sinn Féin TD for Louth Joanna Byrne released a statement on Wednesday evening claiming that fellow board members had called on her to resign, stating that her position was “no longer tenable” after calling for the Republic of Ireland to boycott its forthcoming Nations League games with Israel in her role as her party’s spokesperson for sport.

Drogheda, which is owned by American investment firm Trivela Group since 2023, subsequently responded with a statement refuting Ms Byrne’s version of events and cited criticism of UEFA and FAI as their primary cause for concern.

Speaking after his side’s 1-1 Louth Derby draw with neighbours Dundalk in Oriel Park on Friday, long-standing manager Doherty said the fall-out had caused him deep distress in the build-up to the game and called on all parties to come together for the betterment of the club.

“It has been tough, really tough,” said the 45-year-old.

“It has been hard to think of football or think of getting a team prepared for the first big Louth Derby in a couple of years. I’ll be honest, it has been very, very tough for me because I’ve been thinking of nothing else. This is a big, big deal and how much this club and this job means to me but for the last couple of days it has just been really hard.

“I’m very much a believer that everyone has the right to their own opinion and everyone can have their own opinion, myself included, and the big thing and hard thing for me, if I’m being totally honest, is I have really good relationships with both parties and that’s difficult for me.

"It’s not about me just to be clear but you’re interviewing me so I’m telling you how it has been for me and it has been very, very tough to think about the match tonight and to prepare the players.

““I listened to (Dundalk boss) Ciarán (Kilduff). I knew Ciarán would have them flying. We played them a couple of weeks ago and I’m thinking, he’s able to go and prepare his team properly and I’m probably not eating or sleeping for the last 48 hours because of how much this has affected me because of how much I love my job here and how much as a club we’ve always been united.

“United by name, united by nature. And that’s all I want. That’s all I want is for resolution and for people to talk because, as I said, I’d absolutely back anybody having their own opinion but we have to try and get it resolved and move on because otherwise we won’t be in a good place going into next week then.”

Doherty said he would happily play a role in reuniting the board if he could amid concerns expressed locally that the split could lead to Trivela exiting the Drogheda project.

“If I can help, I’ll absolutely help,” he said.

“I’ll talk to anyone. I do talk to everyone. A lot of people know me here a long time and I think I get on with most people. I’ve had great working relationships with all the people that you’ve mentioned, really good work relationships, and that’s just why it hit me as a sort of, ‘Oh Jesus please don’t’ because I’ve been thinking of me and the future and it’s a tough place to be in for the last couple of days because I knew what Dundalk were going to be like.

“I was worried and concerned for everything. The whole club, everything that was going on.

“We’ve had some unbelievable moments generally really good moments and we’ve had some tough, tough ones. You talk about pro licenses, and you talk about things, but I can promise you they don’t prepare you for some of the stuff I’ve been through in the last year, but look it is what it is. I have to manage it the best I can and as I said it’s been really tough.” While Doherty said he did not know what would happen next, he was hoping for a resolution.

“I hope it’s resolved. Without going into names, don’t tell me that they don’t want it resolved. Everybody that is involved in this, myself included, absolutely love this football club and love the town. I’m a northside Dubliner but I’ve been in Drogheda for nine years and I absolutely love it, but I haven’t loved it for the last couple of days if I’m being honest. It has been really tough.

“I’m just hoping for a resolution, absolutely hoping for a resolution because I love the direction we’ve been going in. There has been a couple of hiccups, not on the pitch, we’ve been unbelievable on the pitch for the last four or four-and-a-half years since I took over. That’s not to say we weren’t a good team before. We were obviously on an upward curve but the progress we’ve been making every year, I’d be absolutely devastated if that stopped but, as I said, I just want the club to be united and to try and resolve the issues,” he said.