Former Cork City young gun Ricardo Dinanga link up with Coventry City

CORK City manager Colin Healy has wished Coventry City-bound Ricardo Dinanga all the best while reminding the winger of the levels required to make a successful career in England.

Nineteen-year-old Dinanga impressed in the City first-team squad last season, scoring against both Longford Town and Sligo Rovers, but he turned down a contract with the Rebel Army for 2021 and has been on trial with the Sky Blues. That deal is set to become permanent – though Coventry are currently under a transfer embargo – and Healy hopes that the former Ballincollig and Corinthian Boys player can make the most of his chance.

“Ricardo’s a good lad,” he said.

“We had him in the academy and he was here last year and he decided to go down a different pathway.

It probably comes down to him, how he trains and how much he wants it. 

"I know that going over to England will be a whole new ballgame for him, away from home probably for the first time.

“He’s a good lad and wish him the best of luck, if that does happen.”

Having spent much of his playing career in Britain, including a loan spell at Coventry while with Celtic, Healy is well aware of how difficult it can be to make a living from professional football.

“You do need a bit of luck, to be honest,” he said.

“It’s your attitude and your application, the way you train and look after yourself, what you do away from football.

“Sometimes, you go into training and you only train for an hour and a half, it’s what you do in the afternoons and what you do at night-time. You have to be the ultimate professional to get to the highest level and it’s tough over there.

“He’s a good lad, he’s got a good attitude and, if it is the case that he does go to Coventry, we wish him well.”