Dundalk confirm departure of Laois man Keegan as manager

Dundalk have confirmed the departure of Laois native Shane Keegan as their manager.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that the Rathdowney man had tendered his resignation.

This appeared to be the case on Saturday when Keegan was not present as Dundalk drew with St Patrick’s Athletic – collecting just their second point of the season and leaving them eight points off the top after five games.

But Dundalk have only confirmed the news in a statement that has been issued this morning.

They said: “Dundalk FC can confirm that Shane Keegan has left his position as team manager.

“Everyone at the club would like to thank Shane for his work during his time at Oriel Park and wishes him the very best in the future.

“We can also confirm that Filippo Giovagnoli has left the club with immediate effect.

“The Italian arrived at Oriel Park last August and played a major role in helping the Lilywhites to the group stages of the UEFA Europa League.

“He also coached the side to FAI Cup final success against Shamrock Rovers at the Aviva Stadium in December 2020, and the FAI President’s Cup in March of this year.

“The club would like to thank Filippo for his hard work at Oriel Park over the past nine months.

“He has behaved with great dignity and professionalism throughout his time in Ireland and everyone at the club wishes him all the very best in the future.

“Giuseppe Rossi will remain at Dundalk FC as part of the coaching team.

“The club will conduct a thorough recruitment process for a new manager and will not be making any further comment on the selection process until an appointment is made.”

Keegan, who formerly managed Wexford Youth and Galway, originally joined the club in 2020 as an opposition analyst but his role moved closer to the first team later in the year when Filippo Giovagnoli and Giuseppe Rossi took over from Vinny Perth.

Dundalk went onto reach the group stage of the Europa League but as Filippo Giovagnoli does not have the necessary UEFA Pro Licence to coach in Europe – Keegan was named as the manager for those games.

But Dundalk were later fined €50,000 for ‘shadow coaching’.

The SSE Airtricity League also requires managers to have a Pro Licence and Giovagnoli is currently seeking a place on a course, though the next FAI one does not start until 2022.

So, Keegan was appointed first team manager with Giovagnoli named the club’s permanent first team coach.

Keegan can now focus solely on GAA as he was appointed as Rathdowney-Errill manager at the start of the year.

The post Dundalk confirm departure of Laois man Keegan as manager appeared first on Laois Today.

source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/04/19/dundalk-confirm-departure-of-laois-man-keegan-as-manager/