Declan Coleman looking forwards after taking over UCC soccer team from Noel Healy 

A new semester at UCC means new faces around the campus and one those is Declan Coleman, who had just taken over the college’s senior football team in the Munster Senior League Premier Division.

The former Cork City and Cobh Ramblers coach is picking up the baton from Noel Healy, following his trophy laden 15-year spell that produced four Collingwood Cups and three domestic top flight titles.

That period also saw graduates like Sean McLoughlin and Conor McCarthy go on to have careers in England.

Coleman isn’t looking at what was achieved, instead he is focusing on what is to come as he prepares for life on College Road.

“I’m excited – the facilities and infrastructure of the college are brilliant so it is an exciting time to get involved and hopefully we can bring it onto another level,” he said.

“I’ll be judged on the job that I will do myself not on the back of what Noel has done or what John Caulfield has done before him. 

"Obviously, they both did really good jobs over the years, and that is going back quite some time because Noel was there for so long.

“I’m coming in with my own background in football and my own coaching CV. I’ll make the job my own so I won’t be judged off what someone has done in the past. 

"There’s no time or no room for that.” 

Coleman is already a well-known locally after being a part of the Cork City coaching team that guided the club to promotion to the Premier Division in 2022.

He worked under Colin Healy, and together they proved to be a winning combination as the Rebel Army became known as a nursery for future internationals.

The most famous two to emerge during that period where Mark O’Mahony and Franco Umeh, while David Harrington went on to represent Wales after his transfer to Fleetwood Town.

Coleman is now transferring his skills to UCC, a club aiming to build on last season’s great escape through the play-offs.

That was a just reward for all involved after a long season that started in September with a game against College Corinthians and ended against St Patrick’s Athletic in July at Richmond Park in the FAI Cup.

The big thing was survival and it proved to be a key reason why Coleman took the job.

“In terms of where the college want to go then playing in the Munster Senior League Premier Division is important,” he explained.

“If there’s an eye on potentially playing in the National League down the line, you’re not going to be considered if you are not playing in the top level of your own local league.

“For me, first, that was a big factor. I don’t know if I would have had any interest in the job had it been in the First Division. 

"As much as there is potential for where the club could go, you also want to be at the highest level possible each season. 

"I wouldn’t have been interested myself so I couldn’t really have sold it to players. I was trying to attract players and if I don’t believe in it myself?” 

Coleman is now assembling his squad, which can be a challenge in UCC as players graduate every year.

The coach will deal with these issues with a backroom team that includes Kevin O’Brien, Stephen O’Keeffe, and Raul Naranjo, a trio that have worked with Cork City at various stages in their careers.

Together, they will assemble a squad that will compete locally and at inter-varsity level this season.

“There was a handful of players that graduated or left so the numbers when we went back were down a little bit,” he said.

“As more students go back to college now and new students arrive, then the numbers will increase. 

"I’m looking at bringing in some new players anyway. So that might end up with some players who are there moving on if I can’t guarantee minutes for certain people or if the level of player increases and that puts certain players’ places in jeopardy a little bit.

“That is part of football anyway. 

"You are always going to have some turnover in players anyway. College is no different to that, especially when we are limited to players who are enrolled in the college being part of the squad. 

"Everyone’s time is up at a certain point and they have to move on. 

"That is something that you have to deal with.”