Daly outlines his ambitions ahead of 2026 season
New Waterford FC manager Jon Daly pictured after his press conference held at the SETU Arena. Photo: Noel Browne
New Waterford FC manager Jon Daly is looking forward to the challenge of leading the Blues into the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division for 2026, but has warned that he won’t be shooting for the stars in the first year.
The 42-year-old, who has managed both St. Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk most recently in the top division before having a stint at Galway United as assistant manager to John Caulfield, is now relishing the chance to lead Waterford forward.
Speaking to the media on his appointment, Daly said: “I suppose when I talked to the owner and the board of the club, I think the vision they obviously have for it, where they see the club going in the future.
“For me, it’s an interesting one in terms of that connection with Fleetwood, and seeing how that works. The first time I've ever worked at a club that has that connection. I think it's an excellent opportunity to connect with a UK club that has certain structures in place.
“It’s a club with a proud history. It's a one-town club, and Waterford, as a county, has a large population. I think there are opportunities to really grow the club and push on. I'm obviously delighted to be here and look forward to getting going.
“I’ve already started, and I look forward to getting to meet the players over the next number of weeks, getting back out on the training pitch, and trying to put together a squad that can bring this club forward.”
The new manager is excited by the challenge that lies ahead. “I think they obviously have great ambition for the club. I think they're obviously under no illusion about where we are. As you said, we’ve just avoided relegation through the playoffs.
“We need to be better next year, and we need to try to build. We're not going to shoot for the stars in the first year. Yes, we obviously would like to overachieve and push on, but we want to build something, and that takes time.
“There is great medium to long term vision for the club, and there’s some great plans in place and there's great plans in place. That was obviously something that really resonated with me, made me want to come back to Ireland again, and have a go.”
When asked about recruitment, Daly added: “I think we'll obviously work together and try and actively recruit players that we feel can improve the squad and can help us get where we want to go.
“I've obviously had a couple of meetings before signing, and then a couple since about how we can do that. There's definitely support there. I'll be able to lean on a lot of people to help make things happen.
“We're obviously competing with a lot of clubs to sign players, as it is with Ireland, so there'll be targets we go after that we get, and there’ll be targets that we miss. Ultimately, for me, we want to bring players to this football club who want to be here, want to play for Waterford, and want to be part of it.
“We’re not going to go and blow people out of water financially to bring them to the club, but we can certainly offer fantastic facilities, a great opportunity to grow, to learn and to develop and to go and progress their careers.”
With speculation that other clubs could be in for captain Padraig Amond, Daly acknowledged that he wasn’t surprised, but wants to work with him.
“I’ve had a conversation with Podge. He's a top player. I'm not surprised by the speculation. There's obviously speculation around all the top players in the league, and he's certainly one of them.
“He is under contract here. I've obviously had a conversation and expressed my desire to work with him, so I'm looking forward to doing that.. I've only met him a couple of times from playing against him, but I’ve always got the impression that he seemed like a really genuine guy as well.
“He comes across as a top person as well, not just the top player. So having that type of character around the training ground and around the place on a day-to-day basis is massive. I certainly don't want to lose somebody like that.
“As I said, he's under contract, and I'm really looking forward to working with him. I'm trying to make sure that he can go and do that again next year. That he is our main man again within the league and helps us to progress towards the targets that we want to hit.”
With recent managers not basing themselves in Waterford full-time, Daly addressed that potential problem and also addressed the squad. “I'll be based in the area. When I say I'm based in Scotland. I mean, my family are obviously based in Scotland.
“My wife and my kids are living there, and that's mainly because my kids now are at an age where they're going into important years in school. My wife started a new job so and they're happy where they are.
“I think it's important that they're happy and they're comfortable where they are. From my point of view, I’ll be based in Waterford, and will see my family the odd time when I can get across.
“We’ve looked at the squad and looked at who is in and out of contract. The last 24 hours have been pretty hectic, and I've managed to speak to one or two players. I do plan to talk to them all the next day and let them know where we're at.
“I think it's important that we speak to the players and we give them the time of day in terms of where we stand. You know whether we want to keep them, whether they're already under contract, or whether they're under contract and we're not looking to renew.
“I think it's important that we speak to the players, and you know, after they've given everything to the club over the time that they've been here. Without knowing the players, and I've spoken to the staff, they've all given everything they can. So it's important that we do that, and we do it in the right way.”
Asked if he would have the full say on recruitment, Daly said: “Recruitment is very, very difficult. It's probably, for me, the most challenging thing to do, and I don't think I ever can fall on one person alone.
“I think you have to have a team behind you, and my staff, and I, the owner, the board, we will speak to each other, but ultimately, I think the players that are signed will be, and I will have that final decision on who comes in the building.
“But we're working together on it. As I said, it's such a difficult thing to do in football. It's very hard to get every decision right. There's so much more that goes into it. It's not just about signing a good player; it's about relocating a player. It's everything like that.
“Can they adapt to new surroundings? Can they adjust to new cultures? There's so much that goes into it, rather than just the player that the fans and everybody see him on a Friday night out on the pitch.
“We will work together to make sure we do our best to get the right ones in to help us move forward.”
Daly concluded that the Blues will be underdogs ahead of the new season. “People will do their predictions, and they'll nearly always predict the same things, to be up and around the top and up around and down around the bottom.
“That's natural, but we'll have a budget that we need to stick to and we need to work to, and our job is to make sure we try and get the best players out of that budget that can make us competitive. A “Look, we're under no illusion for us to go and compete and challenge that we’re going to have to punch above our weight. We know we're going to have to leave everything on the pitch and make sure that we get the best out of the players that come in.
“But it's a challenge. It's something we're up for. I think, going into games as underdogs, there's sometimes less pressure, but we'll certainly have our own internal pressures and targets, where we want to go and what we want to do.
“You will have Rovers and Shels have just got in kind of huge money from Europe. I'm sure they'd be utilising it to add to their squad again and to build again. It does make it difficult, but that's why we all love football, because sometimes you get upset and sometimes it can be unpredictable.”
