{"id":383036,"date":"2026-04-05T10:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/383036\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:44:08","slug":"athlone-seek-stability-after-turbulent-period-of-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/383036\/","title":{"rendered":"Athlone seek stability after turbulent period of success"},"content":{"rendered":"

The structure at Athlone Town “is not stable”, according to former manager Colin Fortune, despite the club’s CEO insisting a structured process is under way to identify a fourth manager for the women’s team in less than two years.<\/p>\n

Athlone opened the 2026 season by beating Shelbourne 1-0 in the President\u2019s Cup, extending a run that already included back-to-back Women\u2019s Premier Division titles and last season\u2019s FAI Cup.<\/p>\n

Even after John O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s resignation in March, they responded with a 5-2 win over Bohemians, with Dana Scheriff scoring four times.<\/p>\n

On the pitch, the level has held. Athlone still look like a side capable of competing for everything again. Off it, however, the situation remains unresolved.<\/p>\n

The club are continuing their search for a new manager, with chief executive Steven Gray telling RT\u00c9 Sport they have been “keeping the board, staff and players updated on a consistent basis” as the recruitment process continues.<\/p>\n

Gray said a structured process is under way, involving discussions across football, HR, and finance, with candidates identified both in Ireland and the UK.<\/p>\n

“The women\u2019s team is a top priority for the football club,” he said. “We have spoken to five of the top people in women\u2019s football in Ireland and will be speaking to two people based in the UK.<\/p>\n

“We will be patient in the search for the best possible candidate and hopefully at the end of the process we will secure the right person.”<\/p>\n

For now, a short-term coaching group of Anthony Faye, Dan Byrne and Brian Shelley remains in place, with Gray and Shelley leading the recruitment process.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s exit is the latest in a sequence that is becoming difficult to ignore. He follows Ciar\u00e1n Kilduff, who stepped down after delivering a league title in 2024, and Fortune, who left in 2025 while the team were still competing strongly both domestically and in Europe.<\/a><\/p>\n

Three departures, each at different moments, but all against a backdrop of success.<\/p>\n

Fortune believes the current situation reflects deeper structural concerns.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a very sad situation for the players,” he admitted. “It doesn\u2019t seem too dissimilar to last season. It looks like what I would describe as interference may have been a factor in John O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s departure. I\u2019m not surprised by this.”<\/p>\n

\"30<\/p>\n

Fortune (above) added that, in his view, the roles within the club should be more clearly defined.<\/p>\n

“The CEO needs to be the CEO. He needs to remove himself from the dressing room and team selections,” he said.<\/p>\n

Fortune also questioned the delay in appointing a successor, suggesting the current setup raises concerns from his perspective.<\/p>\n

“John is gone a few weeks now. They\u2019ve put coaches from the younger LOI academy teams in and they seem to be fronting it while football decisions are made elsewhere. Was this the plan all along? I hope not. The lack of transparency and updates from the club is also a bit strange.<\/p>\n

“They promised to be more open to supporters.”<\/p>\n

Despite that, he acknowledged the strength of the squad but warned that, in his opinion, the current situation may not hold over time.<\/p>\n

“They still have the best players in the league, so they\u2019ll be fine domestically. The players are great and they just get on with it. But the lack of a manager will catch up with them. When they get to Europe or a one-off cup game and need a tactical change, that\u2019s when they\u2019ll suffer and it won\u2019t be the players’ fault.”<\/p>\n

He also pointed to concerns around player development and long-term planning.<\/p>\n

“These players need to be challenged and developed. They need a gameplan and a style of play. Currently it\u2019s all off the cuff. They need a proper qualified and experienced manager. There has to be a management structure in place. The players need goals and targets. That\u2019s not present now.”<\/p>\n

Fortune described the broader structure, in his view, as “not stable” and raised questions about the club\u2019s long-term direction, including academy support and player retention.<\/p>\n

“The academy players are your club\u2019s identity. If those players are allowed to leave, how do you compete? The structure is not stable and that\u2019s the concerning part.”<\/p>\n

The club have not publicly addressed those specific claims around the academy, but maintain that their recruitment process is ongoing and structured.<\/p>\n

The questions around the women\u2019s team do not exist in isolation. Athlone\u2019s men\u2019s side have faced their own challenges in recent seasons, particularly around squad turnover and contracts, but without the results to match.<\/p>\n

While one side continues to deliver trophies, the other has struggled to establish the same level of clarity or progression. The contrast has sharpened the focus on the club\u2019s overall structure.<\/p>\n

For now, Athlone are balancing two realities. A team that continues to win, and a situation around it that still feels unresolved.<\/p>\n

The next managerial appointment will be decisive.<\/p>\n

Until then, the results remain strong. The questions, however, have not gone away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The structure at Athlone Town “is not stable”, according to former manager Colin Fortune, despite the club’s CEO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-383036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}