I’m retarding progress, says Cork chief Coughlan

TOM COUGHLAN says that the “primary reason” for his stated intention to step down as Chairman of Cork City is to help ensure a viable future for the club.

However, the FAI have described Coughlan’s move as “too little, too late”.

Today is deadline day in the club licensing process for next season, although it’s understood that Cork have appealed for an extension which would give them until the middle of next week to supply audited accounts. Club licensing rules require that all outstanding debts – believed to be over €300,000 in Cork’s case – need to be settled today, but in the event that they are not the independent committee could still award City a licence if they are under new ownership by the time the body makes its final decision in the middle of next month.

Late last night, players and staff at the club announced that there will be a press conference this morning in the Maryborough House Hotel at which Coughlan will be asked to “walk away from the club”.

Announcing his decision to step down as chairman yesterday, and also confirming that he will relinquish ownership if current takeover talks prove successful, Coughlan told the Irish Examiner: “I’d become a lightning rod for controversy and I don’t want to stand in the way of progress at Cork City. I’ve made a huge personal and financial sacrifice and committed a lot of time and energy to the club but, at this stage, I’m retarding progress and I think the best thing I can do is step down.”

Confirming the news, the club released a statement saying that it would shortly appoint an interim chairman to oversee the proposed takeover of the club and ensure its strategic development.

However, the FAI – who have repeatedly called for Coughlan to step aside – seemed distinctly unimpressed by the latest development. In a statement the association said: “Rather than talking of stepping down as chairman of Cork City FC, Mr Coughlan should immediately relinquish ownership of the club and allow in the parties who have expressed an interest in taking Cork City forward. These parties made their interest clear to Mr Coughlan many months ago, yet nothing has happened. Gestures at the 11th hour when it could be too late to rectify next season are too little, too late.”

Coughlan’s announcement came a day after he lost in his High Court effort to overturn a 12-month FAI ban.

Ahead of today’s club licensing deadline, Coughlan said officials at Cork City were “working ‘round the clock to ensure everything is in order” but he also said that any proposed takeover could take a couple of weeks to finalise. The takeover talks involve a consortium headed up by businessman Michael O’Connell with input from Jim McCarthy of the finance management company Quintas.

“This isn’t going to happen overnight,” Coughlan said yesterday, “but I’m hopeful that the interim chairman will be able to bring the takeover to a successful conclusion.”

Commenting on the failure of his legal challenge to the FAI ban, Coughlan said that he had to accept the decision of the High Court.

“I still can’t fathom the severity of the penalty after I’ve worked 24 hours a day and eight days a week since I took over at the club,” he said. “Bemused would be the best way to sum up my feelings. To me, it was a populist move by the FAI. The structures of the league are the problem, not just Tom Coughlan.”

Coughlan said that, with a streamlined budget, he believed the club was in a “healthy situation” going in to the season and added that he would depart Turner’s Cross having given his best to the club.