'Everything closes in on you' - From sleepless nights to self-doubt, what are the pressures of Irish League management really like when results aren't going your way?
There’s nothing quite like the euphoria of that winning feeling on a Saturday afternoon when countless hours of hard work turn into three points - but there’s also undoubtedly the darker side to football management when things don’t go right that results in sleepless nights, self-doubt and racking your brain for solutions.
With the Irish League still largely a part-time product, most managers are balancing work commitments with dugout duties, spending hours on the road travelling to and from training or matches, scouting opposition and trawling through video footage to identify the next up-and-coming star that can help fire your side up the table.
Stuart King became the Premiership’s first managerial casualty of the season this week, departing Carrick Rangers after losing nine consecutive matches – the last a BetMcLean Cup defeat to third-tier Queen’s University – which demonstrates football’s fickle nature with the ex-Linfield winger barely months on from delivering the historic seventh-placed finish.
That run had clearly taken its toll on King, saying “this is killing me – I’m way too proud of a man not to be sleeping every night” after their 4-1 loss to Ballymena United last month and he’s certainly not alone in having experienced those emotions on the never-ending rollercoaster that is management – a ride that often brings with it thrills and frights in equal measure.
Glenn Taggart spent his whole playing career at Carrick, making over 500 appearances and stepped in as caretaker boss on multiple occasions before taking over PSNI, where he experienced the lows of Championship relegation, losing 11-0 to Linfield and a winless run of 19 matches across competitions during the 2022/23 season.
"Everything closes in on you - you're overthinking everything, trying everything and you're working out what little things could help change the situation,” reflects Taggart, who is now enjoying a successful start to life with Wellington Rec. “There's self-doubt in there too.
"Being the manager it always falls on your head no matter what. You go into overdrive, sitting up to all hours watching video, gathering information and it becomes this cycle. You just keep trying to go forward.
“Stuart has won trophies as a manager and player and I've no doubt he kept that fighting spirit, desire and will to win, but I can only look back on my time at the PSNI over four years and you can only bounce back so many times.”
Those feelings don’t discriminate or reserve themselves for just the lower rungs of Irish League football – they’re equal opportunists that can impact even the most talented.
Larne boss Tiernan Lynch created history by leading the Inver Reds into the UEFA Conference League, a result of back-to-back Premiership titles, but even he has had to deal with judgement along the way, experiencing the lows of shock European exits and consecutive Irish Cup semi-final losses.
Comments underneath Lynch’s post-match interview following defeat to Gibraltar outfit St Joseph’s range from “just go, Tiernan” to “how many chances does this bloke need?” – that just two years before Larne’s seismic moment.
"Even when you're winning, managers and staff are so engrossed in the whole process of what you're doing and how you're doing it,” he said on this week’s NIFL Box To Box podcast. "In the earlier days I would get really low in the lows and wouldn't get carried away with the highs...probably the biggest thing I've tried is to not get as low in the lows and it's now what you do about it.”
There’s probably no greater pressure cooker in the Irish League than Glentoran, one of the country’s most successful clubs, with the East Belfast outfit looking to claim Gibson Cup glory for the first time since 2009 – a hardly believable wait considering prior achievements.
Many managers have been handed the unenviable task of restoring past glories – the latest of which is Declan Devine – while not even full-time investment has helped them get over the hurdle just yet either.
Another challenge Irish League managers face in the current climate is the emergence of social media where everyone from genuine supporters to anonymous trolls provide their opinion on performances, results and formations – sometimes good and constructive, but often negative with many looking to feast on the lows.
"I tell people that you have to be a wee bit mad to go into this job!" Devine said last month. “Your whole demeanour and week is based around your result or performance. It's 24/7 and you have to expect the unexpected.
"Whether we win, lose or draw on a Saturday, I'm not going looking for compliments or kicks in the teeth. If we get three points, I don't need somebody to say well done and I also don't need somebody to kick me in the teeth when we don't get three points.
"I think it's such easy access now to assassinate, especially with young players. There's a lot that take it with a pinch of salt but it becomes so personal now that it can really impact a young player."
It’s not only the individual manager that these tough times impact, but also their families as the fallout from poor results spills over into dinners, nights out or special occasions – you might be physically present, but mentally you’re still at football thinking ‘what if?’.
Johnny Law, who was recently named new Tobermore United manager, spent six years with Portstewart, helping them win consecutive Craig Memorial Cup crowns while they went unbeaten throughout the 2019/20 season before COVID intervened.
That’s also counter-balanced by the past two seasons where the Seahawks lost 28 of 48 Premier Intermediate League matches as the good times were replaced by stress and pressure.
"It's extremely tough,” he said. “It’s a results business where winning and losing are both habits.
"In the last two years I've learned more about myself than I did in the previous 18...going to games where you think you can win and end up getting battered, you always ask questions of yourself and take it home with you.
"My wife could tell within five seconds of me coming in the door whether we'd won or lost. When we won we were out on the town for something to eat but when we got beat it was bed at 8pm to watch TV. It impacts your whole weekend and your family and it can be an extremely lonely place."
However, despite the mixed emotions, Law spent just one month out of management and almost every day of that break itched to get back into the dugout, while all involved with football put devastation and disappointment – sometimes on a weekly basis – behind us to support our team once again the following week. A collective group of gluttons for punishment for the beautiful game.
Law believes “it can be a lonely place, but there are more good times than bad and it's why I've gotten back into it so quickly” while Devine admits his own love keeps him going throughout tough moments.
"There can be dark days and you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. "Because you love football you keep pushing through and give everything of yourself, and if you do that then you can look in the mirror at the end of the day."