Well lads, what’s the story, Michał here, back with another weekly interview. This one is special, as it’s my first interview with a head coach. I interviewed former Cobh Ramblers, Waterford, Longford Town and now Cobh Wanderers head coach Stephen Henderson. It’s a long interview, but definitely worth the read, so I hope you enjoy it!
Michał: You’ve managed Cobh Ramblers, Waterford, Longford Town, and now Cobh Wanderers, four very different clubs. How would you describe your journey through those teams, and what did each experience teach you as a coach?
Stephen Henderson: Every LOI club should have its own specific cultural football DNA as a foundation for any coach to walk into and improve. Unfortunately For most clubs, particularly in the first division, surviving a season without financial collapse is the cultural norm. While in the Premier Division with Cobh in 2008 the club couldn’t sustain a minimal premier division budget. It nearly put the club out of business so that experience has dictated my approach to clubs ever since. Leave your ego at the gate and respect the club’s financial boundaries while trying to make the first team as competitive on the pitch as possible. Although Cobh, Waterford and Longford were different geographically with different DNA player profiles, the cultural norm for all three clubs while I was there was simply make us competitive on a tight budget which by and large I think i did.
The Munster senior league is very competitive with some exceptionally good teams and players in it. The main difference I have found, is me adapting to the players lifestyle rather than the lads adapting to mine. We have lads who are talented at a number of sports so I have to adapt to that in order to have them fresh for Wanderers while it’s the same for lads who work shift. I’m genuinely loving every minute of it because everyone at the club is there for each other and they are there because they love playing the game with their friends and playing for the club that is embedded within their Community.
Michał: What initially inspired you to get into coaching in the League of Ireland?
Stephen Henderson: It was the late great Bohemians legend Billy Young who introduced me to Coaching in the late 90S/.2000s while i was still playing for ARDS in Northern Ireland. i had suffered a bad back injury and knew my playing days were numbered because of it. I done my UEFA B with Billy before i moved to Cork and continued my Coaching with Pat Dolan at Cork City from 2002 to 2004. This is where my genuine love affair with Coaching started to develop so when Cobh Ramblers offered me the first team managers job I was absolutely delighted to accept and have loved every minuet of my coaching journey ever since.
Michał: What are some of the main challenges you’ve faced working in the League of Ireland, particularly at First Division level?
Stephen Henderson: Football management brings new challenges every hour of every day no matter what level you’re coaching at. I would say my second stint at Cobh Ramblers from 2015 to 2018 was probably the most stressful yet most rewarding challenge i have ever faced in my League of Ireland career. When I went back i knew the club was in a bad place but, i didn’t realise how bad until i received a call on the team bus while travelling to play an FAI Cup game from Fran Gavin. He was clearly perplexed and wanted to make sure we were fulfilling the FAI fixture away to Killester united. This is when he informed me the club had requested to be withdraw from the league which left me in shock to be honest. What followed was a concerted effort from a number of fantastic individual volunteers from Cobh who done remarkable work to not only sustain LOI Football in Cobh but over the next few seasons managed to clear a substantial amount of depth, keep the tax man away from locking the gates on a few occasions while the young squad we assembled managed to reach a play-off in 2016 Finish Runners up in 2017 and reach the EA Sports cup final in 2018. As I said, those years were a massive challenge from a professional and personal point of view but the way the local community came together to save the club was and still is massively rewarding.
Michał: When you take over a new team, what are the first things you focus on to make your mark as a manager?
Stephen Henderson: I think it’s important to understand the cultural values of the club by meeting and listening to as many people involved in the club as possible. Identifying the clubs’ overall strengths and weaknesses in relation to infrastructure, finance, retained playing staff and academy strength are generally the key components that will drive realistic targets for the senior team. Once I am completely aware of what i have to work with, the team building and in some cases dismantling will begin. i am a big fan of the F-S-N-P team development model. It helps identify leadership qualities in players but more importantly it identifies areas of toxicity which can destroy any team building process you want to put in place. Once all these components are covered along with my coaching staff, we will start building a football philosophy that is suited to the players we have in the squad which is assembled based on what our playing budget dictates.
Michał: How do you approach developing younger players and helping them progress to the next level?
Stephen Henderson: I think first and foremost the player has to want to improve. If they have a unique skill then great, that will nurture naturally. It is what they are not great at is what I will focus on. Football is not just about individual skill. It is a running game that requires players to have excellent spatial awareness to find areas on the pitch that will affect the game with and without the ball. Once the player understands that different skills and decisions are needed in different areas of the pitch and buy into what they are been coached, their progression has begun.
Michał: From your time at each club, is there a particular season or moment that stands out as especially rewarding or memorable?
Stephen Henderson: Obviously winning the league with Ramblers in 2007 is a stand out moment but as previously stated from 2015 to 2018 was as stressful as it was rewarding. Making the playoffs in 2016 when there were only three playoff places available to finishing runners up in 2017 when the playoffs were scrapped for a season before returning in its current guise was quite remarkable from a group of amature players who also lost narrowly to ST Pats in the quarter final of the FAI cup while also winning a Munster Cup. It was also a great sense of pride for me to be part of a group that led us to the clubs first senior cup final were we lost narrowly to a very good Derry City team.
With Waterford I had a lot of good moments in what was an uncertain time for the club. They had just been relegated for the premier division and reduced their playing budget by 2/3rds. The majority of the players had left so it was almost a complete rebuild. In 2009 we won a Munster cup lost narrowly 1-0 to a full time Sligo Rovers team in the Semi Final of the FAI cup which still haunts me today. it was more heartache that year when we lost the EA sports cup final to Pat Fenlon’s Bohemians. In 2010 we finished runners up just three points behind Stephen Kennys Derry City. Losing the playoff that year to Monaghan United is another moment that haunts me but they were a really good Monaghan team. We had some great occasions at Waterford but couldn’t quite get over the line.
Longford town is a fantastic club that is run by a very astute Chairman. The club lives within it means an appreciates that play-off challenges will come in cycles. Unfortunately a lot of the players will use Longford as a stepping stone, which makes it very difficult to have consistency in their squads. I really enjoyed my time there but the club needed and deserved more time than i could give it when i was there.
Michał: The League of Ireland continues to grow in popularity. What do you think still needs to be done to help it reach its full potential?
Stephen Henderson: The advent of LOITV aligned with the TV deal with Virgin has been a huge game changer for Irish Footballs profile and potential. It is up to everyone involved at the highest levels of professional football in this country to ensure that potential is realised and exceeded. The recent government funding for LOI Academies is a huge step forward but it is up to the FAI and each of the clubs to show the Government that we are capable of handling and distributing large amounts of investment. This in theory should allow for more investment towards infrastructure that will enhance the supporters match day experience which will be pivotal in the continued growth and sustainability of professional football in Ireland.
Michał: Who have been your biggest influences in coaching, either within Irish football or abroad?
Stephen Henderson: Billy Young was a huge influence on me and watching Pat Dolan work at Cork City was an enjoyable and knowledgeable experience. As I progressesd my Father Paddy and Father-in-Law Georgie Mellerick would have been the two main influences on me. From abroad I would have studied Arrigo Sacci a lot and actually still do.
Michał: You now run your own academy. What’s your main goal with it, and how does it tie into your coaching philosophy?
Stephen Henderson: My main goal with MDA Academy is to provide young boys and girls access to international training methods that I would have observed during my coaching journey to a UEFA Pro-Licence. Individual and small group training is completely different to coaching a professional team. My academy focuses on each players individual needs and how they can bring that into a team environment.my sessions would involve a lot of technical development done at high tempo while developing the brains spatial and tactical awareness. The young players are genuienly a dream to work with and it feeds my passion for the game.
Michał: Finally, what are your ambitions going forward? Do you see yourself returning to the League of Ireland in the future, or are you aiming for opportunities elsewhere?
Stephen Henderson: At the moment im absolutely loving my time with Cobh Wanderers. My only focus is on trying to deliver some form of Silverware for a fantastic bunch of players and volunteers who run the club. I am still young enough so whatever happens over the next few years will happen. I have been tempted once or twice to go abroad so maybe that could happen in the future. Going back to LOI is definitely something I would consider, I learned a lot about myself at Longford Town and would probably like to put those learning to use with a club sometime in the future if the opportunity arises.
I would like to thank Stephen Henderson for taking the time to take part in this interview with me. I wish him the very best of luck with Cobh Wanderers and with his academy.
And a big thank you, as always, to everyone reading. See you next week!