Seery Relishing Chance To Work With Republic Of Ireland For Euro 2020 Push

The announcement last weekend that there is sport on the horizon for the remainder of 2020 was universally welcomed as the first tentative steps of life after Covid-19 became something to think about.

For Ennis man Gary Seery, it meant that the first official duties of his new role as a performance analyst with the Republic of Ireland are also moving into focus.

The former Avenue United player was appointed to Stephen Kenny’s new look backroom team having worked with him during his tenure with the U-21 squad.

The first game on the horizon is the crucial Euro 2020 playoff semi-final against Slovakia which was originally due to be played in March but was postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19. It is hoped that the game will go ahead in the late Autumn with October the likely date.

It marks the latest graduation in a remarkable career so far for Seery, with his love affair with the game being fostered from an early age. He lined out with Lifford at underage level before making the move to Avenue United as part of their first U-15 team. He continued to represent Avenue through to adult level, but off the field a burgeoning coaching career was being fostered. As with a lot of sporting stories, this one all began by chance.

“Like most things, it was something I was roped into. There was an underage team which John O’Malley was in charge of and he was going on holidays at one stage. He asked me to look after them while he was gone and I really enjoyed it. When he got back, I told him as much and he just said that is your team so from now on. I stayed with them through to Youths level and just got the bug for coaching. I started doing my licenses and it took off from there” he outlined.

It could well have been a different career path that Seery ventured down, as he was working in construction until the recession hit in the late 2000’s. It meant he had more time on his hands and while researching ways to complete his Youth coaching license, he happened upon details of a four year degree in Sports Coaching and Management at Carlow IT. During his time, he encountered someone who would have a huge influence on his career path.

“I was really engaged with performance analysis in college and getting the chance to work with Wexford Youths allowed me to do that at a high level. Ger Dunne was my lecturer in IT Carlow and he was also an assistant coach with the Irish Women’s team. They wanted to bring in a performance analyst so he set up a meeting for me with Sue Ronan who was head coach at the time. I outlined to her what I could offer and she was impressed so she offered me the role. That was in 2013 and I worked with her until 2017 when she left. I always had a great relationship with Ger so when he was brought on board with the senior men’s team, I worked with him on the home games mainly and I was always on standby for the men’s set-up after that” he explained.

Seery had a front row seat as the Women’s team grew in both stature and profile over the last few years. He says that progression was all down to the desire shown by the players, and it was an experience he enjoyed.

“The players drove a lot of the improvements and they had their own issues with the FAI which they were right to raise because a lot of them were out of pocket. They wanted a high performance culture within the team and wanted to be qualifying for major tournaments which hopefully will happen for them soon. There was a real sense of a positive trend developing because the players were getting better and the Women’s National League was introduced so they were playing to a higher level every week. Colin Bell came in and took it to another level. He kept me on and he just always demanded excellence throughout. It was a great environment to be in and it made it a really tough decision to leave the set-up when Stephen Kenny came calling” he said.

Seery, who is employed by the FAI as Regional Development Officer based in Offaly, admits the call from Stephen Kenny to come on board came out of the blue.

He said: “He rang me when I was at home in Ennis one evening and asked me to come on board which took me by surprise. I told him I would have to think about it because I was enjoying my time with the women’s team and I had a great relationship with Colin. I was also coaching in the women’s set-up so I knew that Colin thought highly of me which meant I really had to consider all options that were open. I think Stephen was a little taken aback by that because he probably expected that I would jump at the chance straight away. I met him a few nights after that and I explained that I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. I said if I was going in with him, I was looking at the bigger picture of going with him to the senior squad and I made it clear that if that opportunity was to come, that hopefully he would bring me with him and that is how it came about”.

He already has been involved in one of the biggest occasions for Irish soccer over the last few years, as he travelled with the Irish squad to France for Euro 2016. He says the challenge with the role on the big occasions is having that focus to view the game as an analyst rather than a fan.

“I went to the Euros as part of the extended backroom team along with doing some communications work. We stayed in the Versailles Palace Hotel for three weeks and I got to walk around the gardens maybe three times. Every day was a work day with training and games along with other duties so you are in that bubble all the time. It was a great experience to be there for the likes of the Italian game where I was up in a gantry on my own recording it. I still have that tape where all you can hear is me roaring when Robbie Brady got the goal. It is a totally different experience to what the fans would get because you really have to focus on what you have to do. I can remember working at the Aviva for the Germany game where Shane Long scored and while the whole stadium was going ballistic, I had make sure I was focused and got everything little detail correct because the next 10-15 minutes were so crucial to have that information for the manager after the game” he outlined.

The first official outing for Seery as part of Kenny’s set-up will come whenever details are finalised for the game against Slovakia. He feels while the uncertainty is ideal, there is a confidence that the freshness Kenny will bring can have a positive impact.

“We don’t have that definite date for a game yet that you could focus on and look forward to which is strange. We are two games away from getting to the tournament and I really believe we can qualify. The new manager is coming in and there will be kick for the lads from that in the way he treats players and coaches them. I am looking forward to these games and seeing what Stephen brings to the team and how he changes it up along with the way he wants us to play. I think it will be really exciting” he concluded.