Stating his excitement at the opportunity, following his appointment as their new head coach on Wednesday, Graham Coughlan begins the journey of striving to salvage Waterford’s Premier Division status with a demanding trip to face St Patrick’s Athletic in Inchicore tonight.
Having begun in the League of Ireland with Bray Wanderers, the 51-year-old Dubliner ended a 19-year playing career in the UK with managerial spells at Bristol Rovers, Mansfield Town, Newport County and, most recently, non-league Boston United.
Appointed until the end of the season at the RSC, Coughlan faces an arduous task as Waterford have won none of their 14 games to date, languishing nine pints adrift at the foot of the table.
“They’re struggling a bit with confidence and maybe self-belief,” Coughlan said of his new charges.
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“There are a few different bits and pieces we can try instil in the players over a short period, but the players also have to start believing and learning.
“We need to start restoring a bit of self-pride and pride in the badge of Waterford. And that’s the aim over the next week or two and hopefully we can grow from there.”
For their part, St Patrick’s will want to put a frustrating bank holiday weekend behind them, Stephen Kenny’s erstwhile leaders having had to settle for draws at Galway United and Sligo Rovers respectively, despite taking the lead in each game.
Shamrock Rovers winning both their games meant that the champions leapfrogged St Pat’s, ominously edging three points clear at the top of the table.
“Graham obviously has a lot of experience in management,” acknowledged Kenny, who has Romal Palmer back fit though Aidan Keena and Ronan Boyce remain out injured.
“So Graham, a new manager coming in, will be looking to have some sort of revival. For us, overall we’ve been playing well and we need to continue that. We’re scoring a high number of goals. We’re at home and we want to try and get that win if possible.”
Shamrock Rovers wait on captain Roberto Lopes ahead of travelling to Galway United, defending the remarkable record of not having lost to them since 2006.
Despite that statistic, encounters have been close with Galway suffering just one defeat by more than one goal in the fixture since their return to the top flight in 2024.
“It’s the ultimate test,” said Galway assistant manager, Richie Holland. “Hopefully, we can get a big crowd in. A big support really helps, as we’ve seen this year in our place.”
Midfielder Shane Farrell returns from suspension for Drogheda United, who host Derry City.
Shelbourne meet Sligo Rovers at Tolka Park hoping to finally get their first home win of the season while Bohemians head to Dundalk looking to end a nine-match winless run.
In the First Division, Cork City will be looking to regain the leadership when hosting UCD in a top-of-the-table clash at Turner’s Cross.
Tonight’s fixtures (7.45pm unless stated)
Premier Division
Drogheda United v Derry City
Dundalk v Bohemians
Galway United v Shamrock Rovers
St Patrick’s Athletic v Waterford (8pm)
Shelbourne v Sligo Rovers
First Division
Athlone Town v Treaty United
Bray Wanderers v Cobh Ramblers
Cork City v UCD
Finn Harps v Kerry
Wexford v Longford Town
