Morgan O’Hanrahan Appointed U15 Manager

Morgan O'Hanrahan Appointed U15 Manager

Longford Town FC is delighted to announce the appointment of Morgan O'Hanrahan to U15 Manager.

Morgan, who, last year, was in the US working as an Academy Director with Global Premier Soccer in Lexington, South Carolina, brings a wealth of experience in coaching to the LTFC Academy.

Looking ahead to the eventual return of underage football, Morgan expressed his delight in getting back to coaching in Ireland;

I have been itching ever since (the pandemic) to get back into coaching and management. Longford got back to me (after applying for the role), we had several discussions and it left me with real excitement and enthusiasm about the club and the direction it was going. Longford have a great record of promoting academy players to the first team and this is something I want to be a part of. Success for me is seeing this happen.

Speaking about the currant climate, Morgan revealed the challenges that are posed in underage football;

Like everything, Covid has had a huge impact on all sport, not just football. It's a unique situation for all sports clubs, we're having to improvise and come up with new strategies for engaging those players we have and those we're looking to add to our team. We have created a home programme for all players to keep them working on their technique and fitness, it also helps for identifying players who can come in and improve the team. While it is hard to see the player's full ability over zoom or video, it helps identify those intangible qualities we look for in all of our players such as commitment, hunger, coachability and respect. We can also see what players will be really accountable and responsible for their own development.

Finally, the Monaghan man spoke about his ambitions for the 2021 season and how he's not trying to look to far ahead yet;

I just want to get back out on the field as soon as possible. I don't want to look too far into the future just yet, we don't know how this season will pan out. The players also are just desperate to play together, they miss the camaraderie, the friendship, and the team environment. As I said before, success at this level is seeing the players improve and progress through the ranks. Winning games and trophies are a nice feeling in the short term but the goal remains one of development, of long-term successes.