Magilton to assist O'Neill for time being

SOCCER:SHAMROCK ROVERS have confirmed former Ipswich and QPR manager Jim Magilton has stepped in to replace Trevor Croly as manager Michael O'Neill's assistant on an interim basis.

With some big league games as well as the two Champions League qualifying round matches against Flora Tallinn coming up, he has turned to Magilton for help over the coming weeks.

“I thought Jim’s other commitments in Northern Ireland and the UK would prevent him helping me at this crucial stage of the season,” said O’Neill yesterday. “But I was delighted when he said he would assist me until I find the right candidate for the job on a permanent basis.”

Kenny Cunningham, meanwhile, says he is unlikely to follow his involvement with the Airtricity League team in the forthcoming Dublin Super Cup by looking to move into coaching or management here but admits he is looking for a way to get a “foot back in the door” over the coming months.

“When I stopped playing and did my coaching badges there were other issues, my wife and I had our first child, but when you take some time out like that the game moves on and people forget about you, that’s just the way it is.

“Now I’ve got to look for a way to get a foot back in the door,” he says. “It’s not easy because for every job that comes up there are probably 50 people sending in their CV but that’s what you’re up against.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do next and I really haven’t looked too far ahead, to be honest. You can’t be too selective for a start; I know you can’t say I’m only going to coach 20 miles from where I live but against that a move back to Ireland would probably bring its own difficulties just now.”

Cunningham was speaking at his official unveiling as Damien Richardson’s assistant for this month’s tournament at the Aviva Stadium and the former Republic of Ireland skipper spoke positively about the opportunity the event can provide for some of the league’s leading players.

“I think they (Inter, Manchester City and Celtic) will take the event very seriously,” he insisted. “For City, there’ll probably only be one more game afterwards until the start of the English season and at a club like that there’s an awful lot of competition for places. I think you’ll find all of the players are trying to show the manager what they can do.

“There’ll be a lot of intensity to the games and we have to be prepared for that but I’ve been very impressed with a lot of the lads I’ve seen playing in the league (Gareth McGlynn and Karl Sheppard both get a mention) and even the older lads need to realise that they can still make a step up.”