Sean Connor
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Sean Connor | ||
Youth career | |||
Distillery | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Port Vale | 0 | (0) | |
→ Macclesfield Town (loan) | ? | (?) | |
Ards | ? | (?) | |
Cliftonville | ? | (?) | |
Managerial career | |||
2004–2006 | Sligo Rovers | ||
2007 | Bohemians | ||
2009 | Dundalk | ||
2010–2011 | Galway United | ||
2012– | CAPS United F.C. | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Sean Connor (born 12 July 1967 in Belfast) is a former footballer and manager currently in charge of Zimbabwe club CAPS United F.C.
Playing career
Connor began his career at Distillery in the Irish League where he played for one full season before moving to Port Vale. He struggled to gain a regular first team place and went out on loan to Macclesfield Town before returning home and signing for Ards.
He was involved in a car accident soon after signing, breaking his chest bone, some ribs, puncturing his lung and damaging his left leg.[1]
He made his playing comeback with Cliftonville but was unable to reach the same level and eventually retired.
Managerial career
Coaching experience
After spending some time as press officer for Birmingham City, Connor moved to America where he coached in the USL First Division under John McGinlay for Cincinnati Riverhawks, Boston Bulldogs and in the Eastern Indoor Soccer League with the Lafayette Swamp Cats. He also spent time coaching non-league clubs in England and scouting for Stoke City and Lincoln.[2]
Sligo Rovers
He was appointed Sligo Rovers manager in September 2004 [1] and in November 2005 he won the League of Ireland First Division in his first season of senior management with Sligo Rovers. They then finished 5th in the Premier Division and reached the semi-final of the FAI Cup.[3]
Bohemians
Connor left Sligo Rovers on 2 November 2006 and was unveiled as the manager of Bohemians on 17 November 2006.[4] Amongst his first acts as manager were the signing of a number of promising players; Harpal Singh, Brian Murphy, and Mark Rossiter, and established performers Owen Heary and Glen Crowe. His first pre-season games in charge of Bohemians' included wins against Lisburn Distillery and Donegal Celtic, and a draw with Scottish Premier Division side Aberdeen.
His first league game in charge of Bohs came on the 9 March 2007, in a scoreless draw against Drogheda United. At first, he showed signs of turning Bohs into genuine contenders for honours with the wins against St Patricks Athletic in the league and Drogheda United in the FAI Cup the most notable victories. However some inconsistent and dour performances saw their league challenge fade away and Bohs finish without a Setanta Sports Cup place. Under his management, Bohs finished a very disappointing 3rd in the league, lost the League of Ireland Cup Final and also lost a FAI Cup semi-final.
On 19 December 2007 his contract as manager at Bohs was terminated for undisclosed reasons.[5] He settled a high court dispute with Bohs over this dismissal in December 2008, for an undisclosed six figure sum.[6]
Dundalk
On 8 December 2008 he was announced as the new manager of Dundalk. During the course of the 2009 season, his team collected an incredible 19 red cards. They ultimately finished 5th in the League, departing the club on 7 November 2009, by mutual consent.
In October 2009, Connor was interviewed for the vacant managers position at Greenock Morton.[7]
Galway United
On 10 January 2010, Sean Connor returned to management, signing a 3-year contract with Galway United,[8] citing it as the biggest challenge of his managerial career so far. He began his reign with a 2–0 defeat to St Patrick's Athletic in Dublin. He managed to keep United in the Premier Division thanks to a play-off win over Bray Wanderers in November. In 2011, he led the club through a League of Ireland record run of 23 consecutive defeats, ending with a draw against his former club Dundalk on September 9, 2011.
CAPS United F.C
On 12 January 2012, Sean Connor was announced as CAPS United F.C. manager who play in the CBZ Premier Soccer League in Harare, Zimbabwe.[9]
Managerial stats
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
Sligo Rovers | ![]() |
2004 | 2006 | 70 | 28 | 22 | 20 | 40.00 |
Bohemians | ![]() |
2006 | 2007 | 33 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 48.48 |
Dundalk | ![]() |
2009 | 2009 | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 33.33 |
Galway United | ![]() |
2010 | 2011 | 66 | 11 | 14 | 41 | 16.66 |
- Stats for Sligo Rovers compiled for league games & exclude all other competitions.
Honours
References
- ^ Doogan, Brian (March 19, 2006). "Ireland: Sligo's champion". Times Online. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "Connor linked with Reds job". BBC Sport. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "Sean Connor". LoI network. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "Connor to take over at Bohemians". BBC Sport. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "Connor loses Bohemians position". BBC Sport. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "Bohs reach Connor settlement". eleven-a-side.com. December 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "Surprise as Irish boss interviewed for Morton job". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ http://www.galwayunitedfc.ie/united-appoint-new-manager
- ^ http://nehandaradio.com/2012/01/12/caps-united-set-to-unveil-irishman-as-new-coach/
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Association footballers from Northern Ireland
- People from Belfast
- Lisburn Distillery F.C. players
- Port Vale F.C. players
- Bohemian F.C. managers
- League of Ireland managers
- Sligo Rovers F.C. managers
- Dundalk F.C. managers
- Ards F.C. players
- Cliftonville F.C. players
- Irish Football League players
- Eastern Indoor Soccer League coaches
- People educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast