Waterford Announce Jon Daly as Head Coach for 2026 Season
Waterford have this evening confirmed that Jon Daly will be their head coach for the 2026 League Of Ireland season.
It was a season to forget for the Munster based side as it took a 2-1 victory over Bray Wanderers in the promotion/relegation final to secure their Premier Division status for 2026. Daly comes in replacing Matt Lawlor who was interim manager following the departure of John Coleman during the season.
In a statement released on the club website it said:
The 42-year old makes the move to the RSC with a wealth of League of Ireland managerial experience, having spent time overseeing Dundalk, St. Patrick’s Athletic – a spell where he won the FAI Cup in 2023 – & most recently with Galway United as an assistant coach.
Having spent over 18 years in his playing career across England & Scotland, the Dublin native hung up his boots in 2016 before beginning his coaching career with Hearts in Scotland as an U20 coach, before progressing to interim manager for five a five-game period where he made a positive impact with the Edinburgh outfit.
Daly then moved to Finland where he took up the assistant manager role with TPS Turku for a 12 month period before returning back to Ireland for the 2022 League of Ireland season where he joined up with St. Patrick’s Athletic as assistant coach to Tim Clancy.
In May 2023, following Clancy’s departure in Richmond Park, Daly was named as interim Head Coach where he won three of his four games in charge before being named as the permanent Head Coach of St. Patrick’s Athletic.
St. Pats went on to win the FAI Cup final that November, with current Blue Tommy Lonergan getting his name on the scoresheet as Daly’s side defeated Dublin rivals Bohemians 3-1 at the Aviva Stadium.
In May 2024, Daly was named as the Head Coach of Dundalk FC where again he played an important role in the club despite off-the-field worries at the club, before departing at the end of the season.
Speaking to club media following the appointment Daly said it was an ” an honour to take charge of Waterford FC. Waterford is a club with huge potential, and my job is simple — unlock it. I believe that’s done by setting high standards every single day.”
Speaking about the Waterford supporters he said they “expect fight, pride, and passion. If we can match the energy in the stands and transfer it onto the pitch, this club can go places it hasn’t been in a long time. ”
Also speaking to club media following the announcement, Waterford FC chairman Jamie Pilley said he was “delighted to welcome Jon to Waterford FC after a thorough and detailed managerial search over the last few weeks.”
Jon Daly is no stranger to the League Of Ireland with previous managerial experiences with Dundalk and St Patrick’s Athletic where he won a FAI Cup in 2023 defeating Bohemians 3-1 in the final. Waterford striker Tommy Lonergan was on the scoresheet for St. Patricks Athletic on that occasion at the Aviva Stadium. Daly’s most recent role was at fellow Premier Division side Galway United where he was assistant manager under John Caulfield where the Tribesmen finished in 8th place.