WITH more time on his hands for reflection these days, the former Sligo Rovers manager Steve Cotterill returned from his daily run yesterday lunchtime, sat on his doorstep and gasped for some of the sunny Bournemouth air before admitting: "I enjoyed the League of Ireland and I'm missing it."
That merely adds to the surprise at his decision to leave Rovers at the end of August, just over a year into the job; all the more so as a bit of scouting work" scarcely satisfies a burning desire to get back into football on a full time basis.
A return to the National League would still be a favoured option, though preferably somewhere more accessible to Dublin and the occasional flight home to his family.
Being passionate about the game, and a fiercely committed young manager, as an outsider Cotterill inevitably had some acclimatising to do when he first came. But, by his own admission, he calmed down, and stopped "ranting and raving".
By any criteria Cotterill had made a striking start to the management game. The club had its best performance (third) in the league for 19 years, made it to a League Cup final and an FAI Cup final, and had mid summer Intertoto draws with rebuilt sides against Nantes and Heerenveen.
The legacy is there for all to see. Rovers lie second in the table, a point behind Bohemians. Thus it seemed like it might be an instructive exercise to canvass the views of a progressive young manager who recently came, saw (conquered to an extent) and left the National League.
For one thing, he detected a distinct improvement in the actual football over a year and this he attributed in part to the influence of Mick McCarthy's style of play as Irish manager. Alas, of course, there remain many hindrances to continuing improvements in the domestic game, and Cotterill hardly hesitates in naming what he perceives as the biggest.
"The worst aspects of the National League are some of the facilities. There's not enough money pumped into the National League for grounds to be quality. There's only a handful of grounds, and even those rounds need modernisation in certain areas. That's one big thing. They also need to improve their playing surfaces."
He exempts Dalymount and Tolka, among others, from the latter criticism, as he does with Richmond Park. "I think Brian Kerr's got it cracked there. I like Brian. I got to speak to him before I left and I have a lot of time for Brian as a manager and a person.
"But, in a word, all the clubs need a lot of money pumped into them, wherever it's going to come from. the National Lottery, the FAI or whatever."
Cotterill also faulted the much criticised TV coverage of the domestic game.
He feels the National League could be doing more for itself. "Like silly things to make the thing more appealing, as with the Premiership over here. It's all hype I know but if it gets punters through the gates then it's worth it. More names on shirts - make more of individual players."
"The National League has some really good players, Costello and Geoghegan, Gilzean and Moran, and it would be great to see more kids walking around with their names on shirts. If would make them more like celebrities and why not? They're playing in your national league.
"There's no marketing at all. It's terrible, I think. A lot could be done." observes Cotterill, which prompts him to ask: "Is there a marketing manager for the National League?" Er. no. "Then why not employ one?" Indeed.
Having followed the debate about an expanded 16 team Premier Division or a reduced 10 team one, Cotterill prefers the latter not least because it could lead to establishing the principle of promotion hinging on the criteria of having certain basic facilities. He backs up the point by referring to the ground of one of the promotion aspirants he was acquainted with.
"We got dressed around electricity cables that were just hanging from the walls and the roof. I mean, you can't do that. It was scandalous. You can't have things like that. It's a joke."
However, there are many "good points" as well, according to Cotterill, and mostly his memories are good ones. "There are a lot of good lads, players and managers. It's hard to equate general standards, but I would say, more than teams, individuals would play over here at a high level.
"Greg Costello could come over here and play in the first division or second division quite easily. Eddie Gormley is another I really like. He's a quality player.
