Former Irish League boss feels Championship clubs are continually progressing and praises next generation of managers

There were a number of shocks in the Irish Cup fifth round earlier this month with Ards progressing past Ballymena United, Annagh United dumped out Portadown and, perhaps biggest of all, reigning Premiership champions Larne fell to an extra-time defeat against Limavady United.

With the way the draw has fallen, at least two teams from below the top-tier will progress into the quarter-finals and they’ll be chasing the same feat as McConkey’s Ballinamallard, who magically reached the showpiece decider in 2019 before losing out to Crusaders.

Since departing Ferney Park in October 2023, McConkey has watched on with interest at developments in the Irish League, particularly at Championship and Premier Intermediate League level in his role as Northern Ireland’s amateur international boss.

Three of Limavady’s giant-killers, including goal hero Ruairi Boorman, were selected in McConkey’s squad for the UEFA Regions’ Cup in Switzerland last year and he’s delighted to see clubs like the Roesiders striving for more.

"I don't think we should get carried away by the recent Irish Cup results or use them as a metric to measure the standard of the Championship or the PIL," he said. "There will always be upsets in the Irish Cup and that is what makes the tournament so romantic and attractive to supporters, sponsors and the media.

"As Northern Ireland junior international/Regions Cup manager it gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to see some of ‘my boys’ steal the headlines from the Premiership lads.

"As someone who has managed more in the Championship than in the Premiership I know just how competitive an environment the Championship is and just what a great place it is for any manager to learn their trade.

"I see small areas of professionalism being slowly introduced but I think there's still a large gulf in the standards on and off the pitch between our top-two tiers.

"I would love to see Championship clubs granted the necessary funding to help them make real meaningful improvements in their grounds, their training facilities as well as the development of their coaching staff.

"With this I feel would come a more consistent improvement of standards."

While in charge of Ballinamallard, McConkey had a tradition of inviting the opposition manager into his office for a "wee cuppa" and pre-match chat.

"I learned so much and shared so much with my fellow managers in those chats and I felt it was important that even though we were about to cross swords we both had a mutual respect for the challenges we both faced managing our clubs," he added. "To be honest I found it quite therapeutic as management is often a very lonely place "

Northern Ireland’s second-tier has a number of impressive young managers – the likes of Annagh United’s Ciaran McGurgan, Institute boss Kevin Deery and Ballinamallard United chief Mark Stafford are all still aged 40 or under, and McConkey feels the Championship is the perfect place to gain invaluable experience.

"In the Championship you have a playing pool of quality experienced players mixed with some great youngsters and I feel you have the same mix with the pool of managers too,” he said. “Naturally supporters focus on the development of players and are excited when some great kids are given the opportunity to shine, like Josh Kee or Tiarnan O'Connor at Harland and Wolff Welders under Paul Kee, but we also must develop our young coaches and managers.

"That will ensure the second-tier of our football structure stays healthy and acts as a good foundation in preparation for the Premiership...and not just for those wonderful Irish Cup days!"