Christmas Day will mark seven weeks in the job for Dundalk first-team manager Ciarán Kilduff, and he says it is “so far, so good”, as he looked back on another busy week which saw him add to his playing and management staff.
The Dundalk squad now stands at 14 players: Enda Minogue, Peter Cherrie, Conor O’Keeffe, Mayowa Animasahun, Vinnie Leonard, Seán Keogh, Luke Mulligan, Aodh Dervin (Vice-Captain), Harry Groome, Daryl Horgan (Captain), Gbemi Arubi, Dean Ebbe, Leo Gaxha and Eoin Kenny.
Kilduff has also assembled a management staff very familiar with the club and our supporters, with Ken Kiernan as assistant manager joined by Gerry Spain, Liam Burns, Peter Cherrie and Ronan Murray, who will work with Matthew Freeman on Strength and Conditioning.
Dundalk will return for pre-season training in early January, and before going on their Christmas break, Kilduff spoke about his latest signings, the potential impact of the club’s Academy on the first team, the goalkeepers’ union, and adding more to the squad.
On Leo Gaxha…
“He’s a very exciting player. He was at Galway and finished the season with Athlone. He’s a special talent. Already in the little bits of the get-togethers we’ve had, you can see his quality coming through on the bit of ball work that we did.
“He’s going to be a really exciting player for us, one to watch for sure. He’s only 22. All the goals he scored at Kerry previously, and the impacts he has had over the last couple of seasons have been huge. He’s an exciting prospect and we’re delighted to have him.”
On Leo’s hunger to succeed…
“We all have that. That’s the motto of this season. They’re the type of people that we want in the building, hungry, young and talented. That’s exactly what he is.
“Players from last season who got relegated are looking to prove a point, and the lads that are coming in are all looking to try to really stamp their names in Irish football and push this club on. I’m not surprised that’s Leo’s thought process – that’s one of the things that attracted me to him.
“As a character and a professional, he seems great, and I’m delighted to have him around the place.”
On raiding Athlone Town…
“That wasn’t the plan at all. It’s a small market. That’s just football. They’ve got some players in that we were talking to too, so you win some and you lose some. We’re competing with everyone in the First Division, not just one team.
“As I said, these lads are all talented players, and we’re all in the same division, so you’re going to lose out on some. I’m delighted with the lads that we got over the line.”
On Mayowa Animasahun…
“What a great character. He’s a local and he’s such a talent. He didn’t make it easy for us, but I think that adds to his character. He’s a great fella and I have a good laugh with him every time I see him.
“More than all of that, he’s a great player, a great professional, and I’m going to hopefully get everything out of him now. He’s not the type of fella to shirk anything. Looking at his physique and his attitude in the bit of training that we did, he’s a special talent, a special boy, and one that the supporters and fans will love to see re-signing and being a big part of our future.”
On the possibility of Mayowa and Conor O’Keeffe at centre-half together…
“Potentially. We’re still a work in progress. We’re going to have to attract a few more players as well. We’ve got young lads coming through too. Everything is to play for. That was the idea. It’s a blank canvas. I’m a long way away from my starting XI right now.
“I’m literally just seeing what I have, getting good talent in the building, good characters, and we’ve done that over the past week once again along with the other lads that we’ve already re-signed and brought in. It has been another good week for us.”
On Eoin Kenny…
“Eoin is someone that I really wanted to commit early. His talent and his quality is there. He’s a big size, he’s fit, he’s hungry, and he’s local and cares about the club, again ticking all of those boxes that we’re looking for.
“Like the other lads, I think there are parts of his game that I can help him with and improve him on. He’s definitely a real prospect and a talent to have. He’s one that I spoke to a few times since I took the job, we had a couple of meetings.
“He’s a great character. He scored some Premier Division goals last season and he’s more than capable of having a big year for us, so I’m delighted with him.”
On fitting Gaxha, Kenny and Dean Ebbe into the starting XI…
“Nobody is coming here not to play. As I said, I just don’t know the starting XI yet. They have to prove it. You’re going to have injuries, you’re going to have suspensions, you’re going to have good purple patches, you’re going to have losing a bit of form. It’s a long season.
“I’m not thinking about anyone not being in my starting XI. These are all here to play, big, talented players. They’re going to hopefully be lads that are going to lead us back into the Premier Division.
“That’s a headache I want. You’re never going to win a league, or anything for that matter, with just 11 players. You need a squad. I have some ideas maybe of things I want to do, but we still have to do a full pre-season, pre-season friendlies, and then, by the time the dust settles, I’ll have a better idea.
“All three of those lads are huge parts of my plans, for sure.”
On Luke Mulligan…
“Ken (Kiernan), Burnsy (Liam Burns) and Grimesy (Shane Grimes) would have known all about the young players’ talents. I have some lads who were here last season too that brought me up to speed, and you’re able to go and watch a bit of video and do your research.
“We have some really talented young lads. Luke, for sure, is one. He was here first in the building, he was in the gym, and it’s all things like that that I’m looking at, attitude, and these young lads are really, really hungry too.
“These are the future of the club. We really need to look at the Academy, and seeing lads like Luke and Vinnie (Leonard) pushing through, earning contracts and earning opportunities, that’s all I want to see from those lads.
“As I’ve said, from the little bit of training we’ve done, they’ve all really impressed. I’m delighted with our start, but it’s only a start, and to be honest, the real work only begins in the New Year. We’ll break up now and we’ll see them in January.
“From the young lads to the senior lads, everyone has got a fighting chance, and I’m standing by that. That was the plan from the start. It was a blank canvas, and I’m standing over it that it really is. Some of those young lads could end up being in the starting XI on the opening night.
“I’ve not made up my mind, and I am going to be honest with them and tell them, they’ll pick the team. Whoever is showing me that it’s going to be our best opportunity to win the game, they’ll be the ones who will get the nod.”
On Vinnie Leonard, TJ Molloy, Seán Spaight and Calum Woods being in his plans…
“They’re the future of the club. I’m hoping I’m not just here for a couple of months! I’m hoping I’ll be here for a long time and these lads will be in our current and future plans. You can see their talent; they don’t look out of place with any of the lads that are here.
“We had a little in-house game for the younger ones, and a few senior lads. I wanted to have a proper look at them and sit back and watch them. Sometimes, when you’re in the training session, or the little bit of ball that you’re doing with them, you don’t see it as much. I wanted to watch them in their natural environment against the other kids their age.
“There are so many exciting prospects in my ranks, and I’m not going to lie, when you’re educating yourself to take the job, you’re looking at that conveyor belt, seeing who’s there, what the future is looking like.
“You’re not just looking at senior players, you’re looking at what’s coming through, and all of those lads have been in with the squad for a reason, so I could meet them, get eyes on them, have conversations with them, and they’ve all done great.
“Hopefully, they don’t enjoy their Christmas too much now, and they come back in the way they have been over the past week, which is sharp and lively.”
On Peter Cherrie and the goalkeeping department…
“It’s done, for now. I’ll reassess it and see. We’re only a matter of hours together as a group. Peter is a wealth of knowledge and experience around the place. Coaching wise, he’s going to be brilliant for Enda (Minogue) coming in, and Sammy (Safaei) is there as well. They’ve been brilliant so far.
“Peter is someone I was desperate to keep around the group for that capacity, and you can see he’s still more than capable of being between the sticks. For now, I’m happy enough with what I have.
“Don’t get me wrong, we’re only an injury away or something going wrong in pre-season to dipping back in, but for now, I’ve no immediate plans to add to it. I’ll reassess when the dust settles and we have a clearer run in the first weeks of January, but for now I’m delighted with three lads.”
On Under-20 Player of the Year Samuel Safaei, who is not yet signed to the first team…
“I’ve been impressed with him probably more than anyone so far. He has been exceptional. You’re hoping sometimes when you come in that you find a little gem. He has been excellent, as have Enda and Peter.
“They’ve all been brilliant. Some of the shot-stopping and that has been brilliant in the bits we’ve done. Honestly, from the goalkeeping point of view, it’s probably been one of those things that I haven’t even thought about because I’ve been happy enough with it.
“It’s the things that you’re not happy with that you spend a lot of time with. It has been a really good week on that end of things, with Sammy, Enda, and Peter leading it from the front, and to be fair to Luke (Murphy) as well.
“They did the fitness side of things too, which is a good start for ‘keepers, I wasn’t letting them away with it! I’m delighted with that department and I think it’s important to acknowledge it.”
On the state of play, with 14 players now signed…
“We have to cut our cloth to measure as a club. I’ve been open and honest in that with my conversations with John (Temple), Peter (Halpin) and Chris (Clinton).
“I’m nearly there. I’m not completely there yet. It was important by this week that we knew what we had before we knew what we needed. To be fair, we have been very happy with how it has gone over the past week. There will be one or two more, of course, but we’re not going to panic either.
“We have to be selective about what we do from here. We know we’re happy with the core. We’ve got some great young lads. Is it time for some of them to step up? Potentially, yes.
“We’ll have the bulk of our squad but there will be a couple more coming in, hopefully, before the season gets going.”
On Ronan Murray joining as S&C Coach…
“Sometimes, you do need a bit of luck, and Ronan moving back with his family to Dundalk was one of those. I went out of my way to get in touch with him and met him. I told him the role I wanted for him.
“Ronan has been brilliant. He was in testing the lads before we sent them away for their Christmas break. Himself and Matt (Freeman) have been just excellent. Again, it’s another department that we’re happy with.
“I feel like everything is excellent right now, which is worrying for me, because I know football is not usually like that.
“It was our first week together as a group, you wanted things to go well, and thankfully we have planned and executed it quite well. The lads got their work in and we’re in a better place than we were before.
“It has been a successful week, and Ronan and Matt coming in, it is another department that has hit the ground running. I can see the lads have taken to them very well, they’re not messing around. That’s another box ticked for me.
“So far, so good.”
2025 Dundalk FC Squad (as of December 24th, 2024)
Enda Minogue
Peter Cherrie
Conor O’Keeffe
Mayowa Animasahun
Vinnie Leonard
Seán Keogh
Luke Mulligan
Aodh Dervin (Vice-Captain)
Harry Groome
Daryl Horgan (Captain)
Gbemi Arubi
Dean Ebbe
Leo Gaxha
Eoin Kenny
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