One step beyond
“It was the fact we were so close, especially when you look at the history of Cork City,” the manager reflects. “We’ve two leagues and two FAI cups in 30 years which just shows that, particularly for provincial clubs — with all the long travelling that’s involved — you don’t get the opportunity to win these things as often as some other clubs.
“On the other hand, the positive for me is that, from the first game of the season against Pats to the very last one against Dundalk, every game meant something to us. We were playing under pressure all the time. So, did it get away from us? Well, when you get that close you’re obviously hoping to get over the line. But, overall, when you look back on the season, they beat us on three occasions and you can’t argue with that. And, despite the disappointment in the end, the big satisfaction for us was that, apart from qualifying for Europe, the crowds were so big, the atmosphere at Turner’s Cross was fantastic and there was tremendous goodwill around the city to the team and myself.”
One only has to look across the Irish Sea to find a cautionary tale currently unfolding of how high-flying runners-up one season can be brought low the very next. But while it would be silly to attempt a meaningful comparison between Cork City and Liverpool — after all, Gearoid Morrissey might be a real loss to the Rebels but it’s hardly on the same scale as the departure of a world-beater like Luis Suarez — the question does arise as to how any club copes with the psychological fallout of coming so close only to fail at the final hurdle.
“I could go back to my own playing career,” says Caulfield. “In 1991 we came through with a young side and took it to the last game of the season and lost out — but then we came back and won it in 1993. The way I’d feel about the situation now is that, last season, 12 of our squad were under 23 and, after what they experienced, I think they should be buzzing to come back this season. I’d be bitterly disappointed if they don’t kick on from that. And I believe they will.
“It would be different if we’d been knocking on the door for a long time. But if we’d actually won it last season, it would probably have been the first time in the history of the league that a team nobody tipped had done that. So, from being so close, I think they should have even more belief and confidence this time. Can we win the league next year? I don’t know, but I’d be very disappointed if we’re not in the mix with the top three or four all season.”
While Dave Mulcahy has been brought in to add his experience to the midfield and defence, Caulfield’s main focus in the transfer market has been on the attacking side of things, with the arrival of striker Karl Sheppard, winger Kieran Djilali and attacking midfielder Gavan Holohan offering fresh goalscoring options to go alongside last year’s success story Mark O’Sullivan, even as the club also waits, with fingers crossed, to see if and when Danny Morrissey can regain fitness and form after his recent ankle operation.
With just one more signing likely to complete the ‘inbox’ for Caufield, that he got so much business done so quickly in the close season points to another positive from the 2014 campaign: the fact that, for players on the move, Cork City were a much more attractive proposition at the end of the season than they had been at the beginning.
“That’s absolutely true,” says Caulfield. “Last season some players did refuse to come to Cork because they didn’t see us as real contenders and, of course, I was new as well. Whereas the amount of interest in players wanting to come to Cork this year has been phenomenal. Not being smart about it, we’ve had a number of top players wanting to come down but I’ve been careful because the nucleus of what we have is very good. There wasn’t a lot wrong with our squad last year.”
And so, while the new blood could see Caulfield employing 4-4-2 as his preferred formation next year, he is hoping that improvement will also come from within the existing ranks of City’s homegrown talent.
“I think Rob Lehane is going to be fantastic player for us,” he says. “Then there’s John Kavanagh and Garry Buckley — I’m hoping these guys will make the team and stay in the team. That’s the challenge to them.”
But, going into the new season, Caulfield is also grateful for the continuing presence in his squad of a couple of the most distinguished veterans in the League of Ireland — Dan Murray and Colin Healy.
“I remember in my own career coming across fellas at the end of their careers,” Caulfield reflects.
“Some were fantastic but some were very negative, me feiners or whatever. As a manager, I’ve been very lucky because these guys have been absolutely fantastic on the training ground every day they’ve come in and have certainly made my job much easier.
“People speak about Dan and his age (34). But Dan could never run (laughs). He never had pace. What Dan has always been is a brilliant reader of the game, a great passer of the ball and strong in the air. And look at Colin — after a couple of frustrating seasons for him, last year it was like he wanted to prove that he wasn’t gone. And he did brilliantly. So, other than them getting an injury, I see both of them having huge roles this season.
“The League of Ireland is full of young teams now, which is good, but you have to have three or four old heads for when the pressure is on or to pick people up and give advice when things aren’t going well.”
And what of the man they all have to look up to at Cork City? For all the stresses and strains associated with the precarious job of football management, John Caulfield says he’s absolutely revelling in his role as he prepares for a second season at the helm.
“It’s been a paradise for me,” he declares. “People talk about the pressure and, yes, it was massive this season, but I’ve loved every single minute of it. Maybe if you were a full-time footballer who went straight into management you might take things for granted but, even as a player I was always part-time, never full-time. So, after working for 30 years on the road, now, for the first time in my life, I get up in the morning and every day is consumed by football.
“I’ll put it this way: to me, it’s not a job, it’s a vocation.”
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