Cash-boost means Bohemians can end 'frustrating' cycle of one-year contracts

Bohemians hit the jackpot on two fronts in the past 15 months by banking €1.5m cut of Matt Doherty’s transfer to Tottenham and €1m from their run to the Europa League Conference League play-off round

Sun, 24 Oct, 2021 - 23:00

John Fallon

Keith Long admits Bohemians’ bonanza year has allowed him to tie down the majority of his squad in advance of next month’s FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium.

The Gypsies hit the jackpot on two fronts in the past 15 months by banking €1.5m cut of Matt Doherty’s transfer to Tottenham and €1m from their run to the Europa League Conference League play-off round.

Although the majority of funds from Doherty’s €15m move are being invested into training facilities at Dublin City University, the European cash will be used to strengthen the first-team squad. Retaining their best, rather than headhunting recruits, is the first priority.

That’s music to the ears of Long who since arriving at Dalymount Park seven years ago has been resigned to losing his finest talent due to the prevalence of short-term contracts.

For instance, his attacking trio three of Danny Grant, Kris Twardek and Andre Wright were among a nine-player exodus last year despite them competing in Europe for the first time in eight years and finishing runners-up in the league.

This season, they are challenging for a top-four finish but will also get the chance of retaining their European spot by winning the FAI Cup.

Bohs clinched their place in the November 28 showpiece against St Patrick’s Athletic by beating Waterford’s in Friday’s semi-final through a late Georgie Kelly winner.

Kelly, the leading domestic scorer with 24 goals, has still to commit himself for 2022 amid interest from hometown club Derry City and Scottish outfits, while Ross Tierney is heading to Motherwell in December, but those pair are the exceptions.

It is understood a batch of Gypsies, including exciting teen Dawson Devoy, have agreed to extend their deals.

“We’ve got a lot done and will probably release something this week,” said Long about the contract negotiations.

“There’s still one or two up in the air and so on but we got most done in the past few months.

“It was frustrating and disappointing losing the players year on year. The nature of one-year contracts means you’re always going to be swinging at the end of the year.

“Now we can offer players slightly longer-term contracts. That gives you a bit of certainty and less turnover of staff.

“The fans of Bohemians have been craving for a day out at the Cup final. We’re set up for success now because we’ve built sustainably for the last few years.

“We haven’t been frivolous because we’re a members’ club and we can’t. We’re run differently and operate in a sustainable manner. I think everybody can see the direction the club has been going.”

One of those on board for next season is Ali Coote, who together with fellow Scot Liam Burt have supplied the Bohs threat from the wings.

They were part of the team that sparkled on the Aviva stage in the summer, delighting the limited capacity crowds by beating Stjarnan (Iceland), Dudelange (Luxembourg) and PAOK (Greece). Bohs bowed out of European competition by losing the second leg to the latter in Thessaloniki.

Coote is looking forward to returning to Dublin 4 for an opportunity of finishing the season on a high.

“What this team has lacked is that bit of consistency,” Coote said of their league struggles ahead of Monday’s rematch against Waterford in the league.

“We need to work on that between now and the end of the season. It's great to be back at the Aviva and hopefully we can get a lot more fans this time.

“The target now is to win the Cup. We wanted to get back to the Aviva; we have shown we can play there and perform so we have a big stage to look forward to and we relish it.”