Coughlan admits relegation battle may have hindered Waterford's ability to chase Derry lead

Graham Coughlan been branded the Miracle Man on Suirside for lifting the Blues from the foot of the table but couldn’t complete the fairytale by ending their silverware drought.

Waterford manager Graham Coughlan dejected after the match. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Graham Coughlan admitted their relegation battle may have caught up with them when it came to chasing Derry City’s lead in the FAI Cup final.

He’s been branded the Miracle Man on Suirside for lifting the Blues from the foot of the table but couldn’t complete the fairytale by ending their silverware drought.

His opposite number, Mark Connolly, reverted to his director of football role and admitted Coughlan would have been on Derry’s wish-list had he not accepted a two-year contract extension from Waterford’s Fleetwood owners last weekend.

Connolly even branded his counterpart as the league’s manager of the year after coming in, like himself, during the summer following a sacking.

“I’ve played in finals, the pitch was lively and they can be energy-sapping,” said the former Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle defender.

“Even though we had a lot of territory, we didn’t create a whole load of chances.

“We are a second half team and were trusting our fitness levels. But these lads have worked their socks off and maybe it caught up with us today.

“It’s been the same 12, 13 faces in every game and we just came up short today. The ball just didn’t fall to us.

“Derry didn’t batter us, didn’t have a whole load of chances, but just a bit of quality made the difference. It didn’t quite pan out as we’d expected, that Derry would step up the gears, and we wanted to outrun and outfight them.” 

 With his own future sorted, Coughlan will look to retain his finest players and add depth. Missing out on qualifying for Europe will have an impact, both financially and in terms of the pull for recruits, but the manager insists the club is on the rise.

“We will be back here over the next few seasons,” he vowed.

“I’ll make sure that we won’t have a 24-year wait.

“European football is a hell of a draw for players but that shouldn’t affect recruitment.

“We’d achieved this season before today and I told the players that. We could have been in the First Division playoff in Tallaght this weekend instead.

“That’s tough to understand now because we’ve lost this final. I’m immensely proud of them.

“There’s the have and have nots in the league and we want to be finishing higher up, rather than talking about relegation or playoffs.

“They should see how far this group has come, the growth within this squad over a short period of time.” 

Emotion rose within Coughlan’s words and facial expressions when he summed up his feelings on a big day out for the Blues.

“I feel that I’ve felt the county of Waterford down,” he said, harshly.

“It’s been 46 since the FAI Cup came home and I was desperate to parade it around the city. I’ll get the club back here.”