Colin Healy steps down as Cork City manager

COLIN Healy’s time as Cork City manager is over following his resignation from the club.

This comes just seven months after he led the team to the First Division title, and promotion to the top tier of the Irish football pyramid.

Liam Buckley, who was appointed Sporting Director on Wednesday afternoon, will take charge of Friday’s game against St Patrick’s Athletic alongside Liam Kearney and the rest of Healy’s backroom team.

The Irish Examiner report that Buckley has no interest in becoming the permanent manager of Cork City.

STRUGGLE

Healy’s decision comes in the immediate aftermath of a 5-0 loss to Bohemians at Dalymount Park, which was their fourth consecutive loss.

The Rebel Army have only won two league games all season, against Dundalk and UCD, and they currently sit second from bottom.

Healy originally took charge of the club on an interim basis after Neale Fenn was sacked in October 2020. He was given the job on a full-time basis that Christmas Eve and he started life as a manager with a 2-1 victory over Cobh Ramblers in the First Division.

City struggled for results during the first half of that season but they were regenerated by the arrivals of Aaron Bolger and Barry Coffey. They shot up the table and ended up finishing in sixth position, four points off the play-off spots.

Healy strengthened that squad during the offseason by bringing in striker Ruairi Keating and defender Ally Gilchrist. This was the catalyst that led to a run that would culminate in the First Division title and promotion back to the Premier Division with just two games left to play.

The manager was responsible for the development of a number of players that moved to clubs in England. This group includes Cathal Heffernan, David Harrington, Mark O’Mahony, and Franco Umeh.

City have struggled since they stepped up to the Premier Division, with just nine points collected from 13 games.

Things started positively with a 4-0 win over UCD leading to draws with Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers.

They were leading 4-2 at Tallaght Stadium with just 20 minutes to go and the Hoops salvaged a point with late goals from Simon Power and Lee Grace.

City travelled to the Showgrounds and went into a 2-0 lead with Jonas Hakkinen and Ruairi Keating finding the back of the net. The Bit O’Red hit back with a penalty from Max Mata in the third minute of injury time and that made it 2-2.

The club’s struggles started after a 1-0 win over Dundalk on Easter Monday at Turner’s Cross. That Friday evening they lost 1-0 at UCD in Dublin and Derry City beat them the following week at home. They then faced back-to-back games against Shelbourne and Bohemians and lost by an aggregate score of 7-1.