Sheehan steps into the breach as Swansea head coach
Alan Sheehan recently took over as caretaker head coach of Swansea City and the Athlone native is waiting for talks with the Welsh club's hierarchy regarding his future role.
Sheehan joined Swansea as an assistant head coach last summer but he stepped up as caretaker head coach following Michael Duff’s departure earlier this month.
He was previously in the backroom team of former Southampton manager Nathan Jones when the Saints were in the English Premier League.
The 37-year-old has been in charge of Swansea for two games - a 2-1 win over Rotherham and a 1-1 draw against Stoke City last Tuesday night.
Swansea salvaged a point against Stoke courtesy of Harry Darling's late equaliser after Daniel Johnson had scored from a penalty for the home side.
Speaking after the game against Stoke, Sheehan said he would be having talks with the club's board as he seeks clarity on his role.
"My work hasn't really changed. I devote myself to the work that I do. No matter what role I am in for Swansea City, whether it's manager or assistant, my work doesn't change. I want the best for it," he was quoted as saying on the Wales Online website.
Swansea currently lie 17th of the 24 teams in the Championship - English football's second flight.
Media reports have suggested that Tottenham Hotspur coach Chris Davies is the preferred candidate to fill the Swansea vacancy but that Spurs have turned down an approach for his services.
Swansea's next game is at home to Middlesbrough this Saturday, December 16 (kick-off 3pm) and, at the time of writing, it remains unclear whether Sheehan will be in charge for that fixture.
Assessing the Stoke match itself, the Coosan native admitted that his side needs to improve but it took positives from the resilience shown.
"I'm not going to hide away and say we were excellent tonight. We weren't, and we know that. But what we did show was a good togetherness. Togetherness takes you a long way. When you build togetherness and character and confidence everything starts flowing," he said.
"We didn't flow as well as we should have tonight, but we take a point. That's four points out of six in two away games in the Championship. You've got to be satisfied.
"I felt we started the game okay, but thought we never really played the football we wanted to play. It never flowed. Just became a frantic game, end to end, and it didn't suit us.
"They kind of swarmed all over us at times and our quality let us down. But I'm very proud of the character and the resilience. Were we at our best? No way. We've a lot of work to do on the training ground, and I understand that.
"But character, resilience, everything we talk about, from today and Saturday. That's what good teams are built on. It really is."
A son of the late Anne and Michael Sheehan, Alan enjoyed a varied and successful career in English football.
In a lengthy playing career, he featured for Leicester City, Mansfield, Leeds, Crewe, Oldham, Swindon, Notts County, Bradford, Peterborough, Luton Town, Lincoln and Northampton. And he went on to hold first team coaching positions at Luton Town and Southampton.
The Athlone man, who played schoolboy football for St Francis, represented the Republic of Ireland at under-21 level.