Tim Clancy: 'I was just exhausted. There was no point in me continuing on'

Tim Clancy said not having a permanent assistant manager since Jamie Hamill departed in March was a major factor in his decision to step down as Cork City boss. 

Tim Clancy believes "not much is needed" for Cork City to be competing at the top of the League of Ireland Premier Division table rather than battling relegation. Pic: ©INPHO/James Lawlor

If Cork City had beaten Derry City last Friday night rather than losing 2-1, Tim Clancy may have remained as manager for a little bit longer. However, the Meathman said that would simply have kicked the can down the road as he would eventually have departed anyway. 

The 40-year-old was exhausted through a combination of commuting from Trim, his family starting a new business, and him not having a permanent assistant manager since Jamie Hamill departed in March. 

Though Cork City are second from bottom of the Premier Division, and are without a win in four games, it was still a surprise that Clancy announced his departure after the defeat to Derry. 

"I'd spoken to someone at the club and just said, 'I think that's me done now'," Clancy told Off The Ball about his shock exit. 

"I felt I was just exhausted. I really was. And there was no point in me continuing on and doing a job at 50% as opposed to 100%.

"The club deserve a lot better than that. Look, I had a contract. I had severance pay as well that I stepped away from. I haven't asked for a penny and I don't want the penny as well. It was my decision completely to step away."

Clancy said the workload was "probably getting on top of me".

"I think we needed more staff in the building," he said. "Definitely needed my assistant manager all sorted."

Regarding the appointment of a new assistant manager, he added: "It was just difficult to get people to commit. If you look at where we're at in the table, it's probably not as appealing to people to go in as maybe if they were fighting at the other end of the league table. A couple we got close with, but fell through. And the more that happened, the more deflating it became."

Clancy believes "not much is needed" for Cork to be competing at the top of the table rather than battling relegation. 

"From my point of view, if I could have had something else, I probably would have had one or two more members of staff to give me a dig out that could have helped and probably made us a little bit more efficient," he said. 

"There was one game where we didn't have an opposition analyst this year to go and watch teams play for us. Myself and Jamie Hamill jumped in the car after a training session in Cork at half one. 

"We drove to Derry to watch Derry against Bohs because we were playing Bohs the following week. The game kicked off at quarter eight, whatever it was. We left the game and got back in at four in the morning. Then we're back in for training at half nine the next day."

Clancy added that he does see himself being involved in football again.