Collins sets about task of reaching top

With the controversy over his departure from Dublin City still very much in full swing, Roddy Collins was officially unveiled as the new manager of Shamrock Rovers yesterday in Tallaght where, having seen his career drift seriously off course since his double-winning season at Bohemians, he made it clear he intends to make himself great again.

Rovers officials, who looked on as Collins once again hammed it up for the media, will clearly have been hoping that the club benefits along the way from this latest exercise in self- promotion.

"This is a business and I want to get to the top," he told an audience that included not just representatives of his new employers and the press but also a group of the club's long-suffering supporters who appeared enthusiastic about the new appointment.

"I have a very big ego," he continued, "I want to get to the top of my profession and Rovers have given me the platform to do that. I want to be the best manager in the club's history, match Shelbourne's achievements in Europe and go on to manage my country."

He conceded that his long association with Bohemians might make it difficult for him to win Rovers supporters over at first but insisted that he would do everything in his power to improve his new club's fortunes and bring success.

"I'm not going to go around kissing the badge and insulting people or anything like that," he said. "What I will do is try to work hard and win their respect."

Asked what it would mean to him to beat Bohemians in his first match in charge last night he said the question was too parochial and that it isn't just a question of beating the likes of Bohemians, Shelbourne or Dublin City although, he added: "I want to be successful so I'll want to beat Bohemians, Shelbourne and Dublin City . . . I'd beat my granny up and down the garden if that's what it takes."

Terry Eviston returns to the club, where he previously played and was subsequently part of the management team, as Collins' assistant and details of the new manager's contract is expected to be sorted out on Monday when he sits down with club chairman Tony Maguire to hammer out a suitable deal.

Collins subsequently took part in a Liveline programme devoted entirely to recriminations arising out of his departure from City on Thursday. He suggested that he had been betrayed in some unspecified way by City chief executive Ronan Seery, an allegation that was repeatedly denied, and said that he had given his reasons for departing to the players he had brought to the club, all of whom had apparently supported his decision.

Thomas McGauley, meanwhile, one of the City's longest serving players, said that even after talking to his team mates he knew nothing of the reasons and he described the timing of Collins' move as "absolutely disgraceful".

In an official statement issued by Dublin City, Seery indicated that he would seek to have sanctions imposed on Rovers for the club's role in the affair but a league spokesperson subsequently confirmed that there is nothing in the organisation's rules regarding the employment or movement of managers and that the matter is a contractual one between the manager and the clubs concerned.

Donal O'Luanaigh, meanwhile, has resigned as chairman of the Eircom League just 10 months after replacing Brendan Dillon in the position.

During his time in office, O'Luanaigh was a supporter of former FAI chief executive Fran Rooney and his resignation is believed to be linked to the departure of his ally earlier this week.

Significantly, O'Luanaigh's exit creates a vacancy on the association's officer board and their board of management, both of which will have central roles to play in shaping the FAI's future over the coming months.

The position is expected to be filled at a management committee meeting which will take place this Monday evening.

Having initially taken the post on an interim basis when Dillon departed, O'Luanaigh was confirmed in his position in March when he beat Galway United's John Byrne in an election at the league's a.g.m.

Byrne, an important figure in the association's relationship with the Government in recent years, said last night that it is not out of the question that he would run for the post again although he insisted that he would sound out a wide selection of club officials from around the country before making any decision on the matter.