Oran Kearney’s ‘what if’ moment

The Coleraine boss has been named NI Football Awards Manager of the Year for a second time after leading his side to League Cup glory and a second placed finish in the Danske Bank Premiership.

But with the season curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic the Bannsiders will always wonder if they could have pipped eventual winners to the title.

“That ‘what it’ will live with me for a long time where we have seven or eight games left and that momentum,” revealed Kearney.

“I’m not saying we’ll never be in that position again, but that moment of that year of that league campaign you’ll never replicate that again.

“So the ‘what if’ can never be answered.

“We had been involved in a really tight decider with Crusaders two years previously and we got pipped on the last day, it had all the hall marks again of that type of run in.

“Even though we didn’t win the league that year when you look back there was some brilliant memories and moments.

“That’s probably the most frustrating aspect - for as good a season as it was, and for as well as we had done, it was disappointing not to see it out on the pitch.

“The other side is if you had offered us European football at the start of the year we would have take that.

“To have at least accomplished that eased the blow.”

Kearney, now in his second spell in charge at The Showgrounds after a brief spell at St Mirren, feels his side have evolved into a team capable of challenging for honours now.

“We have evolved from a side that probably in the first five or six years put a huge amount of hope and thought into a League Cup run or an Irish Cup run, to now become a team that definitely wants runs in those competitions, but also have a big priority on the league as well,” he said.

“That makes the management of a season really easy.

“I remember a couple of the early seasons in particular when we were into the last week of February with 12 league games left and no cups to play for, we were seventh or eighth in the table, and it had been a really hard slog to complete a season.

“Being up in that top area and being involved in the hype of the big matches is exactly what you’re in it for.

“We have a really good squad, I think it’s the strongest squad I’ve had here for a long time.

“We have lots of different players as well who can answer different questions in relation to the different teams we play against.

“We are well equipped from that point of view, we’re still not massive in numbers, which could possibly be the only concern as in February, March and April there’s a huge amount of Saturday/Tuesday games.

“From that point of view it will be important that we keep everyone fresh.

“But from a quality point of view we’re more than happy with how things lie.

“We do have that air of what could have been last season and hopefully that will strive the hunger of what will be this season, or what we can go and try and do this season.”

Kearney, whose team will kick-off the Premiership season tonight with a glamour derby against Ballymena United, is already setting his sights on winning the Manager of the Year back-to-back because that will mean it’s been another successful campaign for the Bannsiders.

“As great as it is to get the trophy you normally don’t get it as close to the next season starting, so all eyes will quickly turn to try to focus and get going again for this season,” he said.

“It’s not the last time I want to put my hands on it because it’s a sign that your club is in a good position all-round and if we’re holding the trophy again next season it’ll mean we’ve had a good season.

“It’s great to stand and hold the trophy, but it is a big testament to everybody whose work rate and commitment has been fantastic and it’s a big reward for them all.”