Cork City triumph cannot be start of another boom-and bust cycle

The Rebel Army booked their place in the top division last night. They must learn from past mistakes, writes one former player

CHAMPIONS: Cork City players celebrate after the SSE Airtricity League First Division match between Cork City and Wexford at Turners Cross in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

This morning Cork City are LOI First Division Champions, promoted back to the Premier Division. As a Cork City fan, those are lovely words to read. The triumph is well deserved the celebrations of Cork City fans everywhere are justified. In under two years, manager Colin Healy has managed to create an almost entirely new squad that plays aggressive, high tempo football with a high work rate and no time for ill-discipline. 

Having played with Healy at underage and LOI level, (and despite his recent touchline ban) I can vouch for the fact that those are attributes that the City manager held in spades as a player. It’s rare to see a team reflect the characteristics of a manager so clearly.