MORE than ten years after joining Ballinamallard, Steve Feeney had said his final goodbyes as he takes up a new role as Manager of Sligo Rovers women’s team.

The first team coach, who arrived at the club as a versatile striker and centre half before progressing into the management team, signed off as a Mallard after their defeat to Dergview on Monday.

The final whistle at Darragh Park marked the end of a memorable time at the club for the Sligo native, and he had nothing but praise for the Fermanagh football family who have made him feel welcome since the first day he arrived at Ferney Park in 2011 alongside Jason McCartney.

“I just want to say a huge thank-you to everyone who has made me feel so welcome since my first day,” he said.

“I call Ballinamallard ‘my home town club outside my home town’, and I will always look on it with that affection.

“From day one, supporters, the committee, everyone involved with the club, they could not have been any more welcoming. It made you feel that you really belonged there.

“You’d think that would wear off after a few days or a few weeks, but every time I went up, there were people giving you such a big hello. Even when times were hard – and there were seasons when we were on a losing run of games – they always stuck with us.

“There were little words of encouragement, and they always stuck with us. I think it was things like that that made the Irish Cup run so special. Supporters that backed the club, the players and the managers when things weren’t going so well, they got to enjoy those kind of days.”

Steve admitted it was a tough decision to leave the club, but the opportunity to take a managerial position in Sligo proved too tempting to resist.

“It would have been nice to see out the season and the push for promotion, but I just felt that the opportunity to be a manager of a Senior team so close to home was too good to turn down,” he revealed.

“It was a difficult decision. I love working under Harry. He has a lovely way about him, and wants his teams to play the ideal football way, but he isn’t afraid to change plans to get a win, and that was very much the same way that I would look at football.

“I have loved watching Harry at work, and I have taken little bits from him, including how he deals with players.

‘Hard to leave’

“It was hard to leave, and with my connection with the club I am leaving so many good mates and good friends. I will be up to support them again before the end of the season, and will be looking out for their results.”

Steve first experienced Ferney Park back in 2011 when Ballinamallard were a second-tier Championship club.

Along with fellow Sligo player McCartney, the two were identified by then Manager Whitey Anderson, who convinced them to play their part in the club’s Championship promotion challenge.

“Whitey invited us up to the last game of the season at Ferney to have a look around and a chat, and from the moment we walked in the gates and saw the pitch, it spiked our interest,” recalled Steve.

“We had a good chat with Whitey, and he told us about what his plans were and what the club’s plans were, and we agreed more or less there and then that we would come up in pre-season and give it a go.

“From there it rolled on, but at that stage I definitely didn’t think I would still be there 10 years later!

‘Always thankful for’

“At the time I was with Galway, and I left there and wasn’t really enjoying my football, and coming to Ballinamallard restored my love of the game. That will be something I am always thankful for when I think of Ballinamallard.”

Steve initially arrived at the club as a striker, and was instrumental in winning the Championship during his first season, with a hat-trick against Ards among his personal achievements that campaign.

As the club established itself in the top flight Stevie made more frequent appearances as a reliable centre half, and he admits those first few years at the club were special.

“The season we won the Championship, there was a lovely buzz about the club,” he recalled.

“To win the league and get promoted was a great start for me, and that first season in the Premier division we finished so high.

“I might not have played as much in that year as I would have liked, but to be part of the squad that came up and caught everyone on the hop and finished so well was great.”

After Whitey Anderson stepped down, Gavin Dykes took over the managerial reigns and Steve was a key member of his backroom team, but that partnership was to end in disappointment with Dykes walking away after a disastrous season that eventually saw the Mallards relegated despite a late revival under new Manager Harry McConkey.

Steve felt responsible for the poor run of form under Dykes, and felt he had to leave the club along with his manager, before Harry McConkey brought him back into the fold at the end of the season.

“Gavin decided to step away and I made the decision that if Gavin was going, as a main coach at the time, I felt that if it was Gavin’s responsibility then it was my responsibility too,” said Steve.

‘Heartbreaking’

“I stepped away as well, albeit only for a few months, because Harry got back in touch. It was a low time, and even though I wasn’t there physically watching the last few games, the boys made such a push to stay up and it was heartbreaking seeing the club relegated after they had done so well for a few seasons in the Premier division.”

McConkey had recognised the talent of the young coach and Feeney was soon back on the bench at Ferney Park, taking a leading role in delivering training sessions and helping the team to some memorable successes.

“When I got into the coaching side of it, certain games and certain performances stood out,” he said. “In the Championship we played Larne on Ferney around Christmas and the performance from the players that day gave me such a buzz.

“Then there was the 2019 Irish Cup run, which was special. We probably didn’t perform in the final the way we would have liked to, but the lead up to it, and the quarter final and semi-final with the supporters, was great. That would be a big high to my time.”

Current Manager Harry McConkey acknowledged that Steve would have been in the frame to become his successor if he ever stepped away from the position, and despite leaving to take on a new role, Feeney would not rule out filling McConkey’s shoes one day.

“Never say never in football,” he said. “After going up to play for one season and staying for ten and a half years, I wouldn’t rule it out, but Harry is doing a great job there, and I would love to see him continue that and, hopefully, the boys will push on and try to get promotion.

“It would be great to see Ballinamallard and Harry back in the Premier League next year.”