Give me time and I will make City the best in the country, says Dolan
He indicated, however, that there would be a role in the new order for David Mahedy, who has been responsible for the physical preparation of St Patrick's Athletic as well as Limerick hurlers.
Mahedy is based in Limerick and worked with Dolan at Inchicore. Cork's new manager paid tribute to his passion for sport when he predicted there would be a role for him at Cork City.
Said Dolan: "I want to be careful because when I come here I need to listen, I need to learn.
"I certainly don't feel comfortable in trying to come down to Cork and pretending I'm some sort of expert. Inchicore had its own culture and I had to learn that and I'm sure Cork does as well.
"I know everybody that's involved in the football club and I need to try and evaluate exactly who's best in what role. I need to evaluate who exactly wants to be involved and I think I'm not ruling anybody out but I would say that I will be bringing people in, people that I've worked with before, people that I know and trust because not to do so would be ludicrous."
Dolan was introduced yesterday as Cork's new manager by chairman Brian Lennox. Mr Lennox described the appointment of Dolan on a three-year contract as "a momentous day" for Cork.
"I believe that the people of this city and county are prepared to come together and support this club on the good days and bad and that we can become the biggest and best club in Irish football.
"It is my genuine wish that the fans and indeed this entire region will get the success it deserves. Cork City is the best supported team in Ireland. We do recognise, given the scale and the nature of the local economy as well as the wealth of football talent in the region, that the club has been under-performing on and off the pitch.
"We are committed to driving the club forward and achieving its full potential. We believe that Pat Dolan, as well as sharing our passion and vision for the future, also possesses the skills needed to manage the club both on and off the pitch," he said.
Pat Dolan has just completed a 15-year stint at Inchicore, a club he joined first as player under manager Brian Kerr. He took over from Kerr as manager and he led the club to three League titles over the past six years.
The previous evening St Patrick's Athletic said they regretted the resignation of their manager and Dolan told his Cork audience: "I don't like St Pats, I love them.
"But I believe this is the right decision for me. The people at St Pats and, in particular, the fans, have been my family and will always have a special place in my heart."
He said he knew that in Liam Murphy and in Stuart Ashton, who led Cork City's U21 team to a National League title, Cork had top-class coaches and he was delighted to have them working alongside him. He said he would bring in new people in time to join them.
"I think we've seen before that you've got to have people who've got a track record of being able to work with you. Sometimes I'm not the easiest person to work with because I get very disappointed if people don't give the same commitment that I'm prepared to give and I know that Dave Mahedy certainly does."
He said it would be unfair to speculate on the future of players he had just left at Inchicore and that he would take time to evaluate the playing strength of the existing staff before he made any decision on signing new players.
He said that Bohemians and Shelbourne had taken a step above the rest of the League in their professional structures and resources and said it was his intention to advance Cork City in this direction.
Dolan said that his appointment did not preclude Cork from appointing a general manager but he said that his brief meant that he would take full control of football activities and would also be involved in commercial activities.
The conference was also attended by Mr. Michael Wallace, the Dublin-based developer from Wexford who was said to be ready to invest €500,000 in St Pats had Dolan remained in charge. He did not rule out the possibility of getting involved in Cork City.
Said Mr. Wallace: "From a geographic point of view it is not the best for someone like me who is operating in Wexford and Dublin to get involved in Cork but we will see how this develops. I am involved in coaching under-age teams in Wexford and I would not rule out an involvement in Cork in time."
Dolan said he would concentrate on recruiting local players and said: "In an ideal world I would be looking for players from the Munster region who will be representing Cork City."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
