New Cork City recruit Alex Nolan seeking freedom outside comfort zone

The capture from St Pat's believes Cork City can thrive in their first season back in top flight.

New Cork City signing Alex Nolan (right) with City striker Seani Maguire and manager Tim Clancy

A sense of trepidation about Damien Duff arriving at Shelbourne during lockdown wasn’t shared by Alex Nolan.

That generation of U17 players had observed their peers at Shamrock Rovers U15s two years earlier being awoken at 5am by the Irish legend for dawn training sessions at Roadstone.

Duff’s move to further his coaching education at Celtic didn’t dim his determination for discipline. He was adamant the development system was worse off from losing the tough-love regime he’d underwent during his formative years at Blackburn Rovers.

Establishing good habits at an early age is a principle Duff remains wedded to and, while the dark morning drills were dispensed with at Shels, adherence to rules quickly became ingrained in the culture.

One of Nolan’s teammates soon learnt the hard way, finding himself frozen out of a zoom meeting for being five minutes late.

“Duffer was full-on to work under but I was actually buzzing for it,” said the winger, one of Cork City’s pre-season recruits.

“My view is that it’s respectful to be on time anyway. That was drilled into me by my parents from childhood. I hate being late for anything.

“I only spent part of a season working with Duffer but it was really enjoyable and a learning experience I took with me.” 

Nolan progressed to break into the Shels first team under Ian Morris but left for UCD by the time Duff emulated his pathway.

Eighteen months with the Students was curtailed when St Patrick’s Athletic came calling and he ended that 2023 season with an FAI Cup medal, credited with swinging the final after being introduced before a record crowd of 43,881.

It was that spell under Jon Daly which paved the way for his switch south. Daly had replaced Tim Clancy and recommended Nolan to the latter after he’d led Cork City back to the Premier Division.

Stephen Kenny, Daly’s successor last May, used Nolan during their late-season surge that almost usurped Shels for the title but the flanker was itching for a fresh project.

“I could have stayed at St Pat’s but didn’t want to start the season on the bench,” confessed the Dunboyne native about his dilemma.

“There were a few clubs around Dublin interested too but I like stepping outside of my comfort zone.

“It’s a different challenge but the best option because I want to play football.

“There’s no better buzz than playing on Friday night and I know from playing against Cork City over the years what a great atmosphere fans generate at Turner’s Cross.” 

Recruitment by City has been slow since Nolan’s capture in November, with Clancy broadening his search to Europe amid an inflated domestic market.

French-born defender Milan Mbeng has signed after impressing in trial games against Bohemians and Waterford, while another run-out ahead of the opener against Galway United on February 14 is scheduled for today against Clancy’s former club Motherwell in Scotland.

Nolan is returning from a pre-season injury and adopting an optimistic outlook for the campaign ahead.

His confidence, against a landscape seemingly shorn of it, stems from how Shels leapt to first from fourth against the odds and newly-promoted Galway United finished fifth last season.

“I think the sky can be the limit for Cork this season,” he said.

“With the size of the club and a great manager in Tim, Cork are a Premier team capable of challenging in the top half.

“The division was very open last year and I’d expect the same this time, especially now that all the teams are full-time.

“When the offer from Cork came, I discussed the pros and cons with my family but made the decision because I feel we can be successful.

“Tim will give me freedom to do my stuff in the final third of the pitch and I just can’t wait to get going now.”