Fenlon: Bohs fans will be won over with results

HE was close to being Bohemians manager just over a year ago but at the second attempt, the Dalymount Park side have finally got their man.

Pat Fenlon, a former player with the club, was yesterday officially unveiled as the new manager of Bohs, having previously turned down an offer to take over at Dalymount prior to the appointment of Sean Connor. Fenlon ended up going north to Derry instead, where he couldn’t repeat his huge success at Shelbourne and, unsettled, wound up resigning after just five months. Since then he has cut his teeth as the Republic of Ireland U23 manager but with the sudden sacking of Sean Connor, the man who needed to be asked twice has finally taken over the reins in Phibsborough.

“Everybody knows about last year, so I was a bit surprised,” says Fenlon about the fresh approach from Bohs. “Like I said before, I thought the decision I made at the time was the right one and I also thought their decision was the right one.

“If I’d been in their position I’d have thought long and hard about coming back for me. But I’m delighted they have. Yes, it’s going to take a bit of time to win the fans over. But I played here for a while and then played for their biggest rivals (Shamrock Rovers) and also played and managed Shels as well when there were plenty of battles against Bohs. But I think they know when I was here I gave everything as a player and it will be no different as a manager. You win fans over by results.”

Fenlon has signed a three-year deal and needs no reminding of what will be expected of him at the underachieving Dublin club — and probably sooner rather than later.

“If you’re three years in the job and you haven’t won a trophy then you know what’s coming,” he says. “But I’m looking forward to getting the boots on and back on the training ground. I thought it was a decent enough season for Bohs on the pitch and the team finished well but we want to improve on that. I want to bring people in and people might have to go but I want to assess everybody first.

“Obviously other clubs have had a head start but I think the nucleus of the squad is strong enough. They finished third in the league and a couple of players have been added, and I’d like to add a few more.”

Fenlon must also determine if he can combine his new post with that of being Ireland’s U23 boss.

“I need to sit down with people and thrash that out,” he said. “I’m very proud of that job and we got off to a good start (with a win against Slovakia). In an ideal world you’d like to combine both but I’m employed by Bohemians now so I want to make sure that we’re ready for the start of the season. And if that means other things have to change then we’ll look at that.

“It was an ambition to get back into club football but I wasn’t expecting to be back as quick as this. It was a little bit out of the blue.”

Doubtless also glad to be back is Stephen Kenny whose return as manager of Derry City will be confirmed at a press conference today. And, in further managerial moves in the league, former Longford boss Alan Mathews is edging closer to becoming the new manager of Cork City.

It’s understood that Mathews will meet with club officials for discussions over the weekend, following which he’s expected to be officially appointed as the successor at Turner’s Cross to Damien Richardson.