‘It was one of the toughest days I had in football’ – Brian Gartland on Stephen O’Donnell’s Dundalk exit

The departure of Stephen O’Donnell resulted in Gartland and coach Liam Burns taking interim charge for last night’s scoreless draw with St Patrick’s Athletic, but the former Lilywhites defender has asserted that he has no interest in taking the job on a full-time basis.

And he said that the experience had increased his respect for O’Donnell and his assistant Patrick Cregg even though their spell at the club ended badly. Dundalk remain bottom of the table on four points and have yet to score at home this term even though their performance against the Saints was well received.

“I was talking to Stephen a couple of days after and said how did you do this for a few years?” said Gartland.

“I was waking up during the night thinking who are you going to play off the right, the left, the middle. Liam was the same. It's not easy. A demanding job, a high pressure job. I've a new found respect myself, even more, for the managers in the league.

“I always thought I'd be a coach and a manager when I was playing but a few years ago I just said no, and I'll tell you straight up why because I don't think people understand the pressure it brings - especially when you're living in the town.

“The stuff it brings onto your family… I'll take it because I've been through the game but this stuff, it's 24/7. If you do well, you're moving away and if you don't do well, you have to move everyone away.

“It’s been really tough this week, yeah. Really tough for Liam and myself, Liam who’d be really close with the lads. I don’t know if I’ll ever see two harder working lads in terms of the minutes, the hours, the dedication they put in, the thought behind it, the detail they put into everything. That's football, it doesn't make sense half the time.

“You see it every year in the Premier League. Sometimes, something just doesn't work. So that was really hard for us because on a personal level, we're close. It (O’Donnell’s exit) was one of the toughest days I've had in football. I've had one or two that would have cost the team big things so it was up there with that.”

While it has been a turbulent time behind the scenes at the club, with a winter change of ownership – with Brian Ainscough taking the reins - affecting the speed of recruitment, Gartland insists the club is headed in the right direction in a number of areas but results have clouded that.

And he acknowledges that questions are being asked of a squad that is lacking in confidence.

“I've two different hats on in terms of the business side and the football side,” said Gartland, after referencing staffing improvements in administrative and community relations areas away from the spotlight.

“The first team is everything, but you can separate that from the other side which I feel is going well. But the image is the first team in terms of where it is and where we are at the moment is going to be the main talking point I really understand that

“I think you can see they need confidence,” he continued.

“Football is all about how you respond because if you're playing in this league you're going to make mistakes, if you're not making a mistake, you're getting out of the league and making a move. Playing here, we're all going to make mistakes so it's about how you bounce back, think about the positives.”

Gartland and Burns will be in the dugout for Monday’s refixed game with Bohemians, and there is no firm timeline on the arrival of O’Donnell’s replacement. The Dubliner confirmed the club have been inundated with applications.