Paul Holland on coaching Douglas and reunion with Valley Rovers

Paul Holland masterminded a massive Valley Rovers win over Douglas four years ago in the Cork Premier SFC, this weekend, he will be looking to plot his old team's downfall.

Holland is in his first season coaching Douglas and there has been steady improvements made this year but undoubtedly another bit to go yet. There is pressure on the city side on Friday evening when they meet Valley Rovers in a vital Group 3 clash in Carrigaline at 7.15pm. Douglas lost at the same venue three weeks ago to St Finbarr’s in the opening round so room for error is very slim.

Holland is a very experienced and well-known coach on Leeside having built up a strong CV over the years, from being involved with the Cork development squads, Cork minor football team and various clubs including Valley Rovers, Clonakilty and Argideen Rangers.

“Douglas is a big club with a lot of players,” Holland says.

“There’s a lot of moving parts there but I am enjoying it so far. Everybody in the club has the same thing, everyone is working hard. The committee has been super. Any evening you go down, there are hundreds of kids on the pitches, loads of helpers. Obviously the adult players are all working hard as well to achieve their goals. The expectation is based on a successful underage system but like it’s quite obvious that there’s a big difference between winning championships at minor level and being able to be a competitive premier senior footballer then. Some of the expectation is unrealistic at times.

“The management of the premier senior football team led by Brian Collins has been involved for a couple of years and they wanted a pair of outside eyes. The work that is being done will continue irrespective of who is there. From my initial look at things, Douglas probably need to bridge the gap and get a few successful U21 teams on the go. That would be my reading of the situation at the moment.” 

Douglas are arguably the biggest sleeping giant in Cork. They have everything going for them but it hasn’t been translated onto the pitch at adult level. Has Holland been surprised by anything so far?

“I haven’t, the players have been super to be honest,” he said. 

“A lot of the lads are young alright. A lot of the players are around 19 and 20 years of age. I would say half the panel are under the age of 21. You have the older guys then, you have Kevin [Flahive] and Seán [Powter] who were away with Cork and you have Shane [Kingston] who was with the Cork hurlers. They are obviously back now and they have brought something different since they have returned to us. The only thing would be that you would love to have them around a bit more. They are good examples to the younger players.

“There are a lot of moving parts and then there’s the dual status. Half of them are missing every second week so it’s hard to develop players and get a bit of momentum and stuff like that. That’s the same in a lot of clubs, you just have to keep working and trying, keep encouraging them and keep them interested. You can’t put an old head on young shoulders, it’s going to take a bit of time.” 

It was an opportunity missed for Douglas against St Finbarr’s in the first group game in the Premier SFC last month. Douglas lost by three points but considering the Barrs weren’t at full strength or top gear, it would have been a big disappointment for them.

They can’t feel sorry for themselves as Holland comes up against some old friends on Friday.

“We did a lot of things right against St Finbarr’s, but we didn’t convert our chances,” Holland says.

“Looking back down through the years, that has probably been an issue for Douglas at times. We will take it game by game. I think last year in Douglas’ group, there were three teams that ended up on two points so you can’t really tell until the three group games are over. We are focusing on Valley Rovers. They are a great club. I spent two enjoyable years with them in 2020 and 2021. I couldn’t have asked for much more.

“Valley Rovers is a very well run club, big support and an honest bunch of players, very clever footballers. Valley’s have some great guys on the sideline in Barry Casey and the lads. Valley's performed very well to come back and draw against Mallow the last day. We know the importance of this fixture.”