Athlone man becomes Galway United's assistant manager
Former Athlone Town player and manager Colin Fortune was named this week as the new assistant manager of the Galway United first team.
Fortune, a former midfielder who also played for Galway during his career in the League of Ireland, will be second-in-command to Galway boss Alan Murphy.
An experienced coach who has also worked with Athlone IT teams in his native town, Fortune said he was excited about his new role at Eamon Deacy Park.
"It’s great to be back in Galway. I’m honoured to be involved," he told galwayunitedfc.ie.
"Galway United is a big club and it always was a big club. When Alan asked me, I was over the moon. I know Alan for a long time and there is real drive and ambition there.
"The club had a tough season in 2019 with a lot of young players coming in, but by god did they do well.
"The average age was very young and a lot of fellas got their first chance to play League of Ireland football and that will stand to them and hopefully they will kick-on in the coming season.
"It’s very exciting to get back involved at this level, lots of people knock the league, but it’s very professional and what we will put into it as a coaching team is professionalism.
"We will try and get a few experienced heads in to help the younger players at the club, I think that’s important. The younger players here are very good, but they do need a wise head around them to give them a dig out and give them a bit of experience."
Fortune also spoke about his fond memories of playing for, and captaining, Galway United during the '00s.
"I loved my time at Galway United as a player, I have nothing but fond memories. The supporters really took to me and they supported me right through the six seasons I had here. It’s great to come back in a professional capacity as Alan’s assistant and I really can’t wait to get started."
Galway boss Alan Murphy said he was looking to build a team of hard-working people that he could trust.
"Colin thinks about the game in the same way as I do, a lot of his philosophies would align well with my own. He's a straight talker and won't be afraid to voice his opinion and he'll be a really good foil for myself and he'll challenge me and we'll work well together.
"When I was looking for an assistant, there were a lot of candidates, but he was a person that really ticked all of the boxes and stood out for me and I believe he can help us to take the club to the next level," Murphy concluded.