Murphy And Ryan Call Time On Newmarket Celtic Management Roles

Newmarket Celtic are on the lookout for new management after Liam Murphy and Davy Ryan announced they are stepping down from the role.

The pair have overseen, arguably, the most successful period in the club’s history, with this season seeing Newmarket Celtic clinch an eighth consecutive Clare Cup title along with back-to-back league crowns and the Hugh Kelly Premier Division Cup.

They went through the domestic season unbeaten, winning every game in all three competitions that they took part in. This year’s Clare Cup victory was a fourth success for the Murphy/Ryan management combination, while they also won all six league titles that they were in charge for during their two recent spells at the helm.

One man who has seen what the duo have achieved at close hand is star striker David McCarthy. The double Oscar Traynor winner has worked with the pair at both club and county level and knows they have brought great glory days to the Newmarket Celtic club.

“When you go out to represent a club like Newmarket Celtic, you have to look firstly at your domestic trophies. Without doubt we want to win the likes of the FAI Junior Cup and the Munster Junior Cup and we don’t hide away from that, but it doesn’t mean that we take what we need to do in a domestic sense lightly either. Anyone who saw the Hugh Kelly Cup final this year would have seen that. We fielded as strong a team as we could and gave the fixture and Avenue the respect that they deserve. We could have easily switched off because we had been celebrating after the Clare Cup win on the Friday night and we had a good weekend but we were straight back into recovery on the Monday with a focus on the game that was coming up. It has been a fantastic year overall and while we were unlucky in the bigger competitions, we went out on shootouts and those are absolute lotteries really. St Michael’s were the only team to beat us in 90 minutes and they have swept up all around them so we know that we are not far away now” he noted.

McCarthy has just completed five seasons with Newmarket Celtic and played a key role in what they have achieved during that time. He has not been on the wrong side of the result against Clare opposition on too many occasions and feels that is all down to the work being done by the club as a whole.

He said: “I am lucky enough to have put five Clare Cups together along with four league titles in my time with the club and even the year we didn’t win the league, it came down to the last day when Shannon Town just pipped us. I would put it down to all the organization that goes on behind the scenes in the club with the people on the committee who work so hard to get all the blocks in place. They have all the right people on board and things like getting a physio for the team has made a huge difference. That was a great addition to an already brilliant management team. Previous to that we had the likes of Mikey O’Malley involved who is an absolute stalwart of the club. I played with him for Clare and against him earlier in my career and he was a fantastic player too. For the five years I have been there we have had brilliant structures in place and brilliant training sessions too. We had Steven Austin from Shannon come in with us there two years ago and his sessions are just second to none. It is as close to a professional set-up as you could ask for and everything is thought of to make sure we have the best chance to succeed”.

McCarthy has also tasted plenty success in the Clare jersey as he was central to putting titles back-to-back under the guidance of Donie Garrihy in recent years. This season saw Clare bow out in the earlier rounds, with one their games being against Janesboro as the club side represented Limerick. McCarthy admits having a club team representing the county is not a route he would like to see Clare taking any time soon.

“Over the years it has been a great competition for Clare and our successes in the Oscar Traynor are real highlights for me in my sporting career. I think the competition does need a revamp and in my opinion a club side should not be winning it or even representing their county in it. I know Limerick had issues with getting management and with the selection process but in Clare I really feel it has to be the best players from all the clubs, whether that be a player from the Third Division right up to the Premier, it should be the best club players making up the squad” he said.

With a change of management now confirmed for Newmarket Celtic for next season, McCarthy paid tribute to the work done by the outgoing set-up.

“Anyone that knows me knows how highly I speak of Liam and Davy and they have always been fantastic lads to work with. They are two brilliant soccer people and we will really miss them around the place. We can only thank them for what they have done and wish them well in the future. The players now are going to have to work really hard and buy into whatever the new management bring and try to kick on again” he concluded.