A fine appointment.
Waterford FC have appointed Keith Long as their new manager, as they set their sights on promotion to the top flight of the League of Ireland.
Long comes to the club with a very good reputation, thanks to his recent spell in charge of Bohemian FC.
Long led Bohs to some excellent European victories, and he can boast a near 50% win ratio with the Dublin-based club.
He also has a great track record of promoting youth to the senior side, with Evan Ferguson one of many players to be given a senior debut by Long.
Keith Long joins Waterford
๐๐น๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ค
Waterford FC are delighted to confirm the appointment of Keith Long as the clubโs new Head Coach.
โก๏ธ https://t.co/Sqz65ycCpp#WaterfordFC pic.twitter.com/Gxrw6WrwER
โ Waterford FC (@WaterfordFCie) March 29, 2023
On the appointment, chairman Andy Pilley said: โIโm delighted to welcome Keith to Waterford FC as the clubโs new head coach.
โWe had a number of very high profile applicants for the job, but Keith was the stand-out candidate and ticked every box for us.
โKeith is a hugely experienced and respected manager in the League of Ireland, and it speaks volumes about the reputation of Waterford FC that weโve been able to attract someone like Keith to the role.
โIโm hugely excited for the future and am looking forward to being at the RSC for Keithโs first game on Friday night.โ
Long himself voiced his excitement about taking the role, saying: โIโm really looking forward to the opportunity to work with Waterford FC. Itโs a great football club with great tradition and is a real footballing city.
โAfter meeting the owner and his senior staff, these are exciting times for a club, which has real ambition.
โIโm looking forward to getting started.โ
Waterford havenโt had a bad start to the new season, having won two, drawn two and lost one game so far.
With a manager of Longโs standard in charge, they will surely be aiming for promotion.