The Minister for defence

AS The Who had it: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

The Cork City defence, the meanest in the Premier Division last season, may have undergone some radical reconstruction but skipper and centre-half Dan Murray will bring an air of familiarity to the new campaign.

While Neal Horgan’s availability at right full is a boost for City, and promising new buy Darragh Ryan has the unenviable task of filling the boots of Danny Murphy on the other flank, the biggest change for Dan Murray is that, with the departure of Alan Bennett to Reading, he will no longer have his right hand man at his side.

“It’ll be weird, alright,” admits Murray. “In fact, we’ve basically had the same back four for the last four years — Horgy, myself, Benno and Danny. But for Benno, it’s the best opportunity that could ever happen to him and you couldn’t deny him the move. I don’t think you’ll ever replace him because he’s such a good player but it gives someone else the chance to come into a team that’s going places.

“We’ve prided ourselves on having such a good defensive record over the past few years and I don’t see why our mentality will change. We’ve still got a few of us there who pride ourselves on keeping clean sheets. We’ve still got good players who can play in those positions — like Woodsy, Brian O’Callaghan, Cillian Lordan. It’s not unfamiliar ground for them but, if you ask anyone in the league, they’re so used to seeing the same back four for Cork City, it’s going to be a big change for everyone.”

For 24-year-old Cambridge-born Murray, a fixture on Leeside since 2002, the changing face of the Cork team means the skipper will have to take on even more responsibility.

“As a captain I have to look at pulling a whole new team together. It’s about getting everyone positive and in the right frame of mind, keeping the same psychology we’ve had over the last few seasons in terms of the way we want to play.

“I’m still young and still learning about how to be a good captain but because I see myself as one of the older players now, I also see it as a responsibility of mine to help make the team the best it can be.”

The changes in the team are not confined to the back four, of course. Among the other notable absentees from the Cork City side which began the ultimately doomed defence of its title one year ago is playmaker George O’ Callaghan, now plying his trade at Ipswich. But with Liam Kearney back in the fold and, FIFA permitting, Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly offering class and experience, there is a real sense of a turning of the page at Turner’s Cross.

“It’s nice to see the new players coming in and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the new season with a new team compared to the last couple of years,” says Murray. “It was disappointing to lose the players but it’s exciting in the sense that we’ve got a new team and new things to look forward to.

“We’ve still got people like Michael Devine, Joe Gamble and Roy O’Donovan and the players coming in are quality, like Gareth Farrelly and Colin Healy. And if we can have John O’Flynn 100% fit, he’ll be like a new player. I think if we can get the team we want out on the pitch every week then we’ve got as good a chance as anyone in terms of challenging for the title.”

Off the pitch too, things seem to be changing for the better at Leeside, much to the relief of the captain.

“It’s nice to hear,” says Murray. “It was all doom and gloom towards the end of last season when there was talk of the club going part-time. But the new investors have come in and it seems they want to do everything in the right way. Off the pitch seems to be getting better every week and that goes hand in hand with the football.

“Before, the football was going miles ahead of off the field activities and I think that was the reason we weren’t able to progress from winning the league. But now it’s exciting times for the club. And Cork people can look forward to a stable club that can build from season to season, instead of taking two steps forward and one step back.”

Cork City begin their campaign tonight with a Munster derby against Waterford United at the RSC.