Joe Gamble on getting involved with the newest generation of Cork City players
Cork City have confirmed the appointment of former players Joe Gamble and Craig Donnellan to lead the club’s U13 Development Squad.
Cork City have confirmed the appointment of Joe Gamble and Craig Donnellan to lead the club’s U13 Development Squad, a move the club hails as a major boost for its academy pathway.
Both men are ex-City players and former internationals, and they arrive with a shared reputation for developing young talent and setting high standards.
For Gamble, who served as Cork City assistant manager under Neale Fenn in 2020 and has remained a close confidant of Academy Director Liam Kearney, the timing finally feels right. Over several years of conversations with Kearney and ongoing involvement in talent identification around Cork and beyond, he says he’s built a clear picture of the young prospects emerging through local football.
“The past year, after discussions around the U13 development squad, we feel it’s a good fit and we’re really looking forward to getting started,” said Gamble. We were trying to find the right time, and now we feel it is.”
Gamble outlines a precise remit for the new coaching team: take charge of each season’s U13 Development Squad from early July through to the end of the campaign, typically October, and prepare players to graduate seamlessly into the U14 setup and competitive League of Ireland football.
“We’d play a lot of friendlies, work on technical aspects, and have them physically ready. It’s a four-month period with high-potential players, pushing their development in an intense window.”
Collaboration will be central. Gamble expects to work closely with the club’s lead academy figure, set to be announced in the coming weeks, and to bring all coaches into alignment on structure and standards. The goal is a cohesive foundation so that, by January, players are bonded, robust, and ready to elevate.
“Liam approached us, and I think the pieces are all falling together.
"You’ll have proper, experienced, expert coaches in academy football coming through. For City, that could mean even more specialised support for the newest crop of players stepping into the academy."
Gamble stresses expertise, realism, and empathy drawn from his own journey are what he hopes to bring to the role.
“I feel I can bring a level of expertise and understanding of the game from a real point of view. Sometimes, academy football isn’t 'real football’ to a certain degree, they’re young and learning. I want them to make mistakes and learn from it, but I’ll bring a sense of realism: to get to the top takes an awful lot of hard work.”
He’s keen to puncture the myth that simply wearing a Cork City tracksuit means a player has arrived.
“They haven’t made it at that stage—there’s a lot of hard work ahead. I want them to enjoy the journey, bring honesty and realism, learn and make sure they can be coachable.”
That environment, he says, will be demanding yet safe: a place where mistakes are not punished but understood, and where standards and accountability remain high.
“Some things I didn’t do as a youngster, or I’d have loved the chance to be better at.
"I hope to give them that sense of drive.”
Gamble’s coaching résumé underlines the breadth of that perspective. He began coaching while still playing, is a qualified strength and conditioning coach, and has worked across Limerick and Waterford in the League of Ireland.
He served as Cork City assistant, managed at Corinthians at senior level, as well as CSL U12 and U13 sides to All-Ireland success. A lot of experience with seniors and kids, butt elite youth demands its own edge.
“Every day is a school day. I’ve a lot of experience, but elite-level kids is different.
"I’m looking forward to seeing kids from around the country, testing myself against other coaches, and learning from Liam and the staff at Cork City. Always looking to learn and improve.”
With Gamble and Donnellan at the helm, Cork City believe the U13 Development Squad will get the detail, intensity, and joined-up coaching it needs to bridge the gap to competitive football.
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