Paul Doolin: 'I tell the truth, which isn’t always great for your career, but I won’t be saving myself'
Despite his long five-year hiatus from the dugout, Paul Doolin insists he’s not “coming from the couch” due to his role helping former teammate Bobby Browne at Swords Celtic. Picture: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
Paul Doolin insists he’ll walk away from Athlone Town if he can’t improve the First Division’s side fortunes on his managerial return.
His arrival as head coach ahead of tonight’s visit of Galway United bridges a 12-year gap on his last involvement in the league, and five years since he quit as Ireland U19 boss.
A season that began so brightly with the Midlanders topping the table has petered out; Adrian Carberry losing his job after a run of just one win in 10 matches.
They have eight matches to eat into the eight-point lead UCD enjoy over them in fifth spot, the final berth on offer for the end-of-season promotion playoffs.
Doolin’s first priority is to shore up Athlone Town’s leaky defence, an area he was renowned for during his spells at UCD, Drogheda United, and Cork City.
His contract is till the end of the season, not that he sought a longer deal when first approached by football director Michael O’Connor earlier this week.
“There wasn’t a chance of me saying that I wanted these eight weeks and another two years,” the 58-year-old told the club’s website.
“I’m happy to do what I’m doing. I see managers in the league getting three or four years but if I see that I’m not able to do anything, I won’t try to save myself or spin a yarn.
I tell the truth, which isn’t always great for your career, but I won’t be saving myself.
“I think I can improve things here because that’s what I’m good at; otherwise, I wouldn’t have come down. But if I can’t do anything, I’d be the first to say ‘ah, look’.”
Despite his long five-year hiatus from the dugout, Doolin insists he’s not “coming from the couch” due to his role helping former teammate Bobby Browne at Swords Celtic.
He’s fresh and ready to resume a coaching career that he ventured into straight after a decorated domestic playing career.
“I know how tough it is managing a club and I’m not in the business of knifing anybody in the back,” he continued. “Some people do it, some worm their way but I don’t.
“Some managers are lucky, they got jobs at really top clubs. I had to start at the bottom at UCD. Nobody gives you a job when they’re first or second in the table so it’s not beyond me to come down to a club like Athlone.
“UCD gave me a brilliant grounding. And, when I went to Drogheda, it was a tough gig because we were third from bottom. We went from there to being a full-time club and should possibly have knocked Dynamo Kiev out of the Champions League.
“I really enjoyed the year at Cork City, a lot of great players but maybe it was the wrong time. We qualified for Europe.
“When a new manager comes in, players want to impress. There was certainly a lot of enthusiasm when I met the squad this week.
“The players know themselves that they should be at least closer to the playoff place.
“There’s something wrong and, judging by what I’ve seen and from checking a few things, there seems to be a lot of goals being conceded. Maybe that’s something we have to look at.”
That starts against John Caulfield’s Galway United side looking to build on last week’s 3-1 win over leaders Shelbourne.
“All the games are big because of the position we’re in,” Doolin said of the run-in.
“Galway are a good club, a full-time outfit with a lot of good players, but we’ve a lot of good players too. If we can tighten up, we have a lot of talent going forward.”
Dundalk v Drogheda United, Oriel Park, 7.45pm; Waterford v Longford Town, RSC, 7.45pm; Finn Harps v St. Patrick's Athletic, Finn Park, 8pm.
Cabinteely v Cork City, Stradbrook, 7.45pm; Treaty United v Wexford FC, Markets Field, 7.45pm; Athlone Town v Galway United, Athlone Town Stadium; Shelbourne v Bray Wanderers, Tolka Park, 7.45pm.
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