Alan Reynolds: 'I was happy the fans vented at me rather than them'

VENTED AT ME: Bohemians manager Alan Reynolds is 50 games into his reign and is happier than ever. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Fifty league games into his spell as Bohemians manager and Alan Reynolds couldn’t be happier.

Second in the Premier Division table, technically they could join leaders Shamrock Rovers at the summit by beating the Hoops next Monday and winning their two games in hand.

Delivering a first league title to Dalymount Park since 2008 is a vision Reynolds refuses to countenance.

He’s not lacking in ambition, merely couched in the reality of the game’s fickleness.

Bohemians travel to his hometown club Waterford on Friday as the Premier Division’s in-form team.

They’re riding high from winning five of their last six yet it's not long since the manager was facing the boo-boys.

Losing six of the opening nine games conflated with a whimpering eight-placed finish last term.

The outlook was bleak when on Easter Monday his own fans chimed with the Rovers chorus of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’.

Bohs were trailing the best team in the country 2-0 in Tallaght until a seasonal resurrection of three late goals engineered a comeback win.

It served to reignite their campaign, easing the pressure on a manager the Gypsies faithful have been slow in warming to.

The temperature has changed from ice-cold to moderate and will likely require a trophy to emit heat but that’s not his craving.

At times, the stick was deeply personal. On occasions, it stretched beyond the confines of league grounds, with the authorities getting involved.

Reynolds has been in management since Waterford appointed him as player-coach at 29.

Most of his career was spent as No 2 to the likes of Stephen Kenny, Ruaidhrí Higgins, Keith Long, Jim Crawford, Liam Buckley and John Caulfield.

Being in the frontline is a different animal.

He’s ultimately responsible and, as cutting as the flak was, he was prepared to be the punchbag instead of players.

And yet never did he entertain the thought of quitting.

“Without a doubt, it was the most difficult stage of my managerial career,” he reflects on the barrage of abuse.

“It was tough at times for the players in Dalymount but I was happy the fans vented at me rather than them.

“It wasn’t nice but I was glad to be the one taking it. That wasn’t something that was said in the dressing room but it was clear.

“I’m glad I got the stick at this stage where I was able to dust myself down, saying ‘right, let’s crack on with this’.

“Not for a minute did I consider walking away. If the people above wanted to make that decision, so be it.

“Dalymount is known as a tough place to come but it became a tough place for us to play. That’s now swung around.” He’s just over 14 months in the job. The one plea made during last year’s underwhelming opening campaign was for the patience of three transfer windows.

Two of those are completed and he doesn’t foresee much business required in the upcoming one, such is the contentment with his personnel.

Crystal Palace have recalled his centre-back Seán Grehan from a loan deal but into his squad place will come Cian Byrne returning from a temporary stint at Galway United.

“We were impressed with our signings, and despite it being hard going early, I always believed in what we were doing,” he reasoned about moulding his team.

“Results have been good and so have the displays.

“People say things about the summer break but we worked really hard when we came back last week.

“We needed a break from seeing each other. They’re young lads, have families and enjoyed the break, even if they had fitness programme results to submit.

“I felt the first-half performance at Cork City last Friday was the best since I’ve come in. We were 2-0 up but should have been out of sight.

“Nobody gave us a chance after the early results and it’s hard to say we’re eying the title. Still, we’re within touching distance.” Their tilt will be strengthened by the returns from injury of former English Premier League striker Lys Mousset and Connor Parsons. Options will be expanded if the right contender arises after July 1.

“I always said three windows were required but after the first series of matches I thought I’d need more,” Rennie said, jokingly.

“I feel you need to improve in all windows. We’ll see if something pops up but you’d want to be a good player to get into our squad.

“We like our group. All they lacked was a bit of confidence.”