Daly appointed as the new boss of the Blues
Jon Daly has been appointed as the new manager of Waterford FC Photo: ©INPHO/Evan Logan
Former St Pats and Dundalk manager Jon Daly is the man that Waterford have turned to become the long term successor for John Coleman.
Coleman became the second manager to leave his post with Waterford during the 2025 season, following on from Keith Long, when he left the club at the end of September. Matt Lawlor took over on an interim basis and guided the club to safety after a nail-biting play-off win over Bray Wanderers.
It is now Daly who is entrusted with guiding the club to a brighter future.
In a statement released this evening, the club said:
"Waterford FC are delighted to confirm the appointment of Jon Daly as our new Men’s First-Team Head Coach.
The 42-year old makes the move to the RSC with a wealth of League of Ireland managerial experience, having spent time overseeing Dundalk, St. Patrick’s Athletic - a spell where he won the FAI Cup in 2023 - & most recently with Galway United as an assistant coach.
Having spent over 18 years in his playing career across England & Scotland, the Dublin native hung up his boots in 2016 before beginning his coaching career with Hearts in Scotland as an U20 coach, before progressing to interim manager for five a five-game period where he made a positive impact with the Edinburgh outfit.
Daly then moved to Finland where he took up the assistant manager role with TPS Turku for a 12 month period before returning back to Ireland for the 2022 League of Ireland season where he joined up with St. Patrick’s Athletic as assistant coach to Tim Clancy.
In May 2023, following Clancy’s departure in Richmond Park, Daly was named as interim Head Coach where he won three of his four games in charge before being named as the permanent Head Coach of St. Patrick’s Athletic.
St. Pats went on to win the FAI Cup final that November, with current Blue Tommy Lonergan getting his name on the scoresheet as Daly’s side defeated Dublin rivals Bohemians 3-1 at the Aviva Stadium.
In May 2024, Daly was named as the Head Coach of Dundalk FC where again he played an important role in the club despite off-the-field worries at the club, before departing at the end of the season.
Jon returned to the League of Ireland in August of this year where he was named as Galway United’s assistant manager - helping John Caulfield’s side finish eighth in the 2025 Premier Division.
Daly now takes the reins of the Blues as preparations begin for the 2026 SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division following the Blues safely securing their status in the top-flight for 2026 after defeating Bray Wanderers 2-1 in last week’s Promotion/Relegation Play-Off Final in Dublin.
After agreeing terms with the Blues, Daly spoke of his excitement to work at the RSC, saying:
“It’s an honour to take charge of Waterford FC. Waterford is a club with huge potential, and my job is simple — unlock it. I believe that’s done by setting high standards every single day.
The people of Waterford expect fight, pride, and passion. If we can match the energy in the stands and transfer it onto the pitch, this club can go places it hasn’t been in a long time.
There’s a big challenge ahead to build a team that works for each other, plays with intensity and never hides. The challenge really excites me and I’m looking forward to getting immersed in the Waterford community and meeting all the players, staff and supporters.”
Waterford FC Chairman Jamie Pilley is delighted to have Jon on board at the club, mentioning:
“I’m delighted to welcome Jon to Waterford FC after a thorough and detailed managerial search over the last few weeks.
During the process we spoke to a number of people regarding the role, as we move into a fresh start for the club, and Jon was a stand-out candidate.
Jon is a vastly experienced person who knows the League of Ireland and what it takes to be successful in it - this was a huge part of the attraction for us and something we were determined to have with this appointment.
He now has the off season to recruit and prepare for what we hope will be an exciting season at the RSC.”"
