Waterford FC's players will need to circle the wagons tonight and set their sights on coming home with three points in very difficult circumstances.
Losing your manager in the build-up to a game does not make for the ideal preparations, but now coaches Gary Hunt and David Breen will have to make do with the lot they've been given and try to get a result from Wexford.
After ten games, the Blues find themselves perfectly mid-table. Four teams are better off (Cork, Galway, Longford & Treaty) while four teams are worse off (Wexford, Bray, Cobh & Athlone). Wexford are just shy of Waterford by three points, while Cork are now nine points better off.
In ten games the Blues have picked up a disappointing 14 points (4W, 2D, 4L).
Remember, this is a team that was being touted as favorites for automatic promotion pre-season. This is the team that held on to so many of last year's players. It's a team that's had the full backing of its owner as they fight to emerge from the first division.
It's hard to say what's gone wrong.
Ian Morris came to Waterford with a solid reputation in the first division. His Shels side had won the division twice. They struggled in the premier and had to deal with relegation, but no other available manager had the CV that Morris did. He'd been there before and had guided a team to promotion twice.
This year, Waterford began well with convincing wins over both Athlone and Bray sending them to an early top-of-the-table residency. The worrying signs began when Galway came back from 2-nil down to rescue a 2-all draw. That was followed by a reassuring win over Wexford at the RSC, but the downhill slide began shortly after. Back-to-back losses with Cork and Treaty, followed by a tepid 1-all draw with Longford made for worrying viewing.
The team has now registered just one win since the 11th of March. Beating Cobh 4-nil in Colmans Park put a shine on recent performances, but four bad days at the RSC saw Galway and Cork come to town, leaving promptly with the six points on offer.
This evening they have the chance to stem the tide that's been steadily flowing in the wrong direction. A win in Ferrycarraig Park would be enough to let the club take a breath and reset while they search for a new manager. It's still early in the season, and there's plenty of time to remedy the situation, but it should be noted that they are working off a similar timeline once again in 2022. They began May of 2021 with no manager and were sitting rock bottom of the premier division table.
One year down the road, we're looking at the same situation playing out once again, albeit one division lower.
For the match-going fans, for the players, and for the coaches who now must run the team - you can only hope that the problems are fixed so that the season can be salvaged.
