Former Portadown star clear Niall Currie leaves 'with his head held high' after Irish League manager exit
Former Portadown midfielder Shane McCabe insists Niall Currie leaves Shamrock Park “with his head held high” – and believes his eventual successor will have to be backed financially if they want to climb the Premiership table.
The Co Armagh club confirmed Currie’s departure on Wednesday evening, bringing an end to his second spell in the Ports hotseat.
Currie masterminded their Premiership return after they suffered relegation in 2023, winning the Championship title and reaching a BetMcLean Cup final before stabilising his hometown team in Northern Ireland’s top-flight.
In total, Currie won 89 and drew 31 of 217 matches – his final fixture in charge proved to be Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to struggling Crusaders.
McCabe, who joined the Ports after winning a Premiership title at Glentoran, credited Currie for his positive impact.
"I know he was really disappointed with their performance last week and mentioned some of the players taking their eye off the ball,” he said. “He has done a fantastic job there.
"He got them back into the Premiership, they solidified their position there and are a challenge for every team that goes to Shamrock Park.
"Maybe there’s some things they didn’t agree upon from a board and manager perspective or from an investment point of view, but Niall can leave with his head held high.
"I know he’s a Portadown fan and he has done a fantastic job there. It’ll be interesting to see who comes in and takes that job.
"There’ll be plenty of people mentioned and who will maybe think it’s a fantastic job, but if the funding and support isn’t there, it can be difficult.
“You’re never comfortable as a manager. You look at David Healy and the job he has done at Linfield, even he was getting a bit of flack – he may have been under more pressure had they not won the League Cup.
"Management is not an easy job, there’s no doubt about that.”
Portadown remain one of the Irish League’s biggest clubs, but haven’t finished inside the Premiership’s top-half since the 2014/15 campaign.
They’re battling to take the next step in an ever-changing landscape following the introduction of full-time football and significant investment, and McCabe insists they’ll need to back their new manager in the transfer market to compete.
"It’s a massive opportunity,” he added. “I was fortunate enough to play for Portadown and we had a really good team with the likes of (Kevin) Braniff, (Matthew) Tipton, Gary Breen, we had a really good team.
"Once you get going at Portadown, they’ll follow you and back you.
"It’s a brilliant opportunity for the right manager, but they need to get the funds to compete in this league. It’s chalk and cheese in the market.
"Niall was dipping into the League of Ireland, but it wasn’t the Premier Division, it was more the domestic leagues and trying to get the key players...when you get them, it’s very hard to hold onto them.
"It’s a difficult job but a brilliant opportunity for somebody to go in and have a really good go.
“How far can they go? Can they punch with Dungannon, can they benchmark from how they work and how they recruit?
"Any manager that goes in there will be transparent about what they need from a funding and player point of view.”