John Sheridan has returned to football management. He has been named as the new manager of the League of Ireland Premier Division side, Waterford FC.
Sheridan returns to management after a six-month break. His last club was Chesterfield of the National League. However, he was sacked in January 2020, after 12 months in charge.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Irish League is suspended at present. The league operates a summer season. Hence, just four games of the 2020 season had taken place prior to the suspension. Waterford are currently sixth in SSE Airtricity Premier Division.
John Sheridan Named Waterford FC Manager
Sheridan Cannot Wait to Start
Understandably, Sheridan is eager to take charge of his first game. Upon his appointment, he enthusiastically spoke to the Official Waterford FC website.
“We’ll be looking to hit the ground running as soon as possible and getting sharp again ahead of the resumption of the league.” said Sheridan.
“I have spoken with the chairman a couple of times in the last little while, and we both are on the same page. We have set out some goals, and I will be pushing the players to make sure we achieve what we have set ourselves.”
Waterford FC’s Surprise Chairman
Maybe this is football’s best-kept open secret: the identity of Waterford FC’s chairman.
Swindon Town supporters should already know the answer. For the name of Waterford FC’s chairman is Lee Power. He is also the owner of Swindon Town.
Power also spoke to the Official Waterford FC website. He said: “I’ve known John for over 20 years and am delighted that he has agreed to help me and the club out.
“To have someone with John’s calibre managing the club is fantastic for the supporters and the city and will also put to bed a number of silly rumours that have surrounded my families(sic) commitments and ownership of the club.”
UEFA Row
Power’s reference to “silly rumours” relates to a disagreement with UEFA. In 2017, Waterford United were taken over by Power. He formed a new legal entity and rebranded the club as Waterford FC.
Under UEFA laws, a club must be in existence for three years before they are eligible for European competition. A complaint was made against the new Waterford FC by a rival club. UEFA took the view that Waterford FC were a new club. This caused the club to forfeit their entry to the 2019/20 Europa League.
Power disagreed with the decision. Therefore, he was obviously extremely disappointed by his club’s European disqualification. Since then, rumours have swirled about Power’s commitment to the club.
Sheridan is a Familiar Name
Sheridan has managed several clubs in the English Football Pyramid. He started his management career as a caretaker-manager at Oldham Athletic in 2001. It was at Oldham where Sheridan retired as a player. He made over 700 professional appearances for eight clubs, including Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday.
He has also managed seven English clubs. This includes five separate spells as either manager or caretaker-manager at Oldham. He has gained a reputation for saving clubs from impending relegation. In 2018, he was appointed as manager of Fleetwood Town on a short-term contract. He received many plaudits for his work at Fleetwood, including from their chairman Andy Pilley.
At the time, Pilley spoke to the Official Fleetwood Town website. He said: “We knew when we appointed John that he would have an instant impact and that has certainly been the case.
“He was the right character to lift the football club and he’s seen us climb up the table and hopefully this weekend our safety in League One can be confirmed.”
Sheridan left the Lancashire club at the end of 2017/18 season by mutual consent. However, without the foundations that he laid, it is very doubtful that Fleetwood would currently be enjoying one of the best periods in their history.
His appointment at Fleetwood followed his fifth spell at Oldham. He had re-joined Oldham after leaving Notts County in 2017. He was also the manager of Newport County during the 2015/16 season.
Sheridan has also saved Plymouth Argyle (2013) and Chesterfield (2019) from relegation. So, to start work at a club in the top six of a division, should make a pleasant change for him.
Waterford were seeking a new manager following the resignation of Alan Reynolds in mid-June.
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