New Bray Wanderers boss Trevor Croly would love to work with Damien Duff

Trevor Croly has been unveiled as the new Bray Wanderers manager on a three-year contract.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Ballsbridge this afternoon with Croly also bringing in John Gill as his assistant.

The 41-year-old becomes the Seagulls’ third manager this season after Alan Mathews left the post along with his entire backroom staff in April. Caretaker boss Maciej Tarnogrodzki stepped down last week.

The new appointment comes at a time of uncertainty off the pitch revolving around the proposed takeover bid by the McGettigan Group.

Talk of such a move has also led to speculation of Damien Duff signing for the Wicklow club when he returns from Australia.

Croly was very much open to such a move, saying: “I’m only in so I’ve not got down that road with Damien, but Damien would be a great addition. If Damien is fit, he’s at another level, let’s be honest, so if Damien was interested in playing for Bray Wanderers and he’s fit, it would be very very nice to work with him.”

Bray currently sit second bottom in the league and look set for a relegation battle as they only lie two points above bottom of the table Limerick.

The turmoil around the club has been very much on the pitch as well with Tarnogrodzki stepping down last week following an 8-1 defeat to Dundalk.

The Seagulls’ struggles continued on Friday night as they went down 4-2 to Drogheda United in a game where captain David Cassidy took the reins as player-manager.

Croly is very much aware of the difficulty of the job he is coming into and says that it wasn’t a quick decision to take the post.

“I think it’s great a fantastic challenge but I certainly haven’t rushed into the decision. We spoke for a long time, had numerous meetings but I see the potential of the club; great potential, it’s a great challenge. Its’ slightly different to challenges I’ve had more recently, (more like) the challenges at Kildare and Longford Town.

“I think on the pitch, you look at the results and nobody at Bray will be happy but they were still able to go to Sligo and beat them (but) we have to find that consistency to go and win games.”

The post is Croly's first management job since a disappointing 18-month spell at Shamrock Rovers that saw his contract terminated by mutual consent.

Club chairman Denis O’Connor was also present at the press conference and thanked Tarnogrodzki for stepping into the role while the club looked for a permanent acquisition.

“Maciej did a super job but everybody knew it was a short-term assignment. We wanted to get to the right person into Bray Wanderers football club and we believe we have got the right one,although we don’t expect miracles; this will take a little bit of building.”

O’Connor was also confident that the off-field problems can be resolved and the Seagulls can focus fully on matters on the pitch.

“I’m aware that there are issues but the issues will be resolved,” he said.