Swansea to retain Athlone native Sheehan after his interim spell

The former Ireland U21 defender was enlisted by the Swans in the summer.

Tue, 02 Jan, 2024 - 18:28

John Fallon

Athlone native Alan Sheehan has been told he’ll remain part of the Swansea City staff when his successful interim period as manager ends.

Monday’s 1-0 win over promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion was his third at the helm, lifting to 11 the number of points he’s collected since being asked to fill in for sacked Michael Duff.

Ex-Ireland U21 defender Sheehan – who played for Leicester City, Leeds United and amongst others Luton Town before he joined the latter’s coaching staff – was enlisted by the Swans in the summer.

Paul Watson, the club’s Sporting Director, was familiar with Sheehan from their time working together at Luton. He assisted Nathan Jones, following him to Southampton in late 2022 and was brought to Watson’s latest project to bolster the resources for new boss Duff in the summer.

Swansea are renowned as a club that offered a start to bright coaches such as Roberto Martiez, Brendan Rodgers and Steve Cooper. They are thought to be seeking a similar profile of up-and-coming head coach but Tottenham’s Chris Davies chose against moving while Manchester United specialist Eric Ramsay has also been considered.

Sheehan isn’t in the running for the permanent vacancy but has a lot to offer and was part of Watson’s plans long before he won over the Welsh club’s faith by reversing their decline and directing them away from the relegation zone.

“I've had conversations this week," said 37-year-old Sheehan, who was handed his Ireland U21 debut by Don Givens.

"Like I keep saying, there is a process to go through and I understand there's obviously a lot of people interested in the job, but finding the right person takes time.

"I suppose when you have taken 11 points out of seven games, sometimes there's not a big rush maybe, but I understand the need for clarity - for everybody it needs to be concluded this week I'd say."

On his latest victory, secured in front of the home fans, he added: “West Brom are a good team and the effort and togetherness the lads showed was excellent.

“You saw a team fighting for the badge, and that is what made me most proud.

“We know they are one of the best teams in the league in terms of that 10 to 15 minutes after half-time, so we knew we needed to come out on the front foot and try and put our stamp on the game.

“It’s not been an easy period with the games coming thick and fast, but we showed we can do both sides of the game.

“We wanted the clean sheet, a platform to build on and the way we defended was top.”