Step up or slide down - simple as that

Albert Einstein is credited with the saying: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Einstein himself didn’t actually say that.

However, you wouldn’t exactly have to be Einstein himself to apply the same theory to Waterford FC. Live by the sword, you die by it too - au revoir John and Danny.

Here we are, two managers axed - and the managerial merry-go-round at the RSC once again lands on Matt Lawlor. Matt has been known to perform miracles on occasion, but it’s with the most cautious optimism that I hope doing the same thing and expecting seismic change doesn’t end in disaster this time around.

If there’s one thing you need to be in football at any level, it’s adaptable. Stubbornness gets you nowhere in the modern game. Look at Ruben Amorim floundering for excuses from week to week and you’ll see it’s not just Waterford - this can happen anywhere.

I point to a José Mourinho quote next - “There are coaches who try things that don’t work and fail - but they say. “I died with my idea” - if you die with your idea, my friend - you are stupid.” 

Watching Waterford FC recently has borne a resemblance to insanity. You can almost predict the somewhat decent display, the impending danger that’s not addressed, the two individual mistakes that lead to goals and the inevitable 2-1 defeat. 

They’re not a million miles away but doing the same thing over and over again won’t get you any closer to where you want to go - or in this case, where you need to be - and fast.

Sligo Rovers on the other hand have 18 points from their last ten games and there’s not a hope they’ll have to worry about being relegated - why? They got their recruitment right. 

It’s been a long long time since I could say the same about Waterford FC. 

The reality is there was an opportunity in July to drive on and make something seismic out of a season which once seemed doomed. Now, it’s a case of going back to the drawing board before the unthinkable occurs. 

Panic alarms have sounded, and Matt Lawlor once again is required to be the voice of reason.

I’ve been going to meet with Waterford players and management for a number of years now. I’ve met Alan Reynolds, Fran Rockett, John Sheridan, Kevin Sheedy, Marc Bircham, Ian Morris, Gary Hunt, Danny Searle, Keith Long, John Coleman and Matt Lawlor. I haven’t been around too long, mind you.

Were it not for Lawlor’s earlier interventions, this season would already be consigned to misery - but for a longer term concern, this club could be in the First Division next season if people don’t start to get their act together - and irrespective of what division they’re in, we’re looking at a 12th different face in the dugout since 2020. That can’t continue.

Drogheda United, Derry City and Galway United come to the RSC in the next month. I’m not even being overly dramatic when I say any of them leaving with any points could be nothing short of a travesty - particularly Drogheda - that’s how high the stakes are.

One thing I do know about Matt Lawlor though is that he’ll pick the team on merit - and that’s a good thing because watching some of the players get on the team sheet week in week out recently has been baffling when you put certain performances under the microscope.

In recent games, very few men can walk off the field with their heads held high - the exceptions being Padraig Amond, James Olayinka and Tommy Lonergan - and somehow Lonergan can’t seem to buy a start. 

I’d sum up this season by looking at the case of three other players. Navajo Bakboord - I won’t even go there out of respect, we just all know it didn’t work out. Maarten Pouwels is already gone and Matty Smith is still on the deserters list.

When a team loses seven games on the spin and then goes on another seven-game winless run in the same season - if they do get relegated, then sorry, you can’t have any complaints. It’s time for these players to take a long hard look at themselves.

Some of them aren’t good enough, others are but aren’t applying themselves enough and others are being asked to carry passengers. It seems the shirt is too heavy in many cases - and in four games time, or more pending disaster - many of those players will be unwanted memories. That’s not being harsh, that’s being a realist.

Looking at Galway’s fixtures and looking at Waterford’s - Waterford probably need seven points minimum, three of which have to come at Galway’s expense come the last whistle of the campaign. Easier said than done, but it’s not a time to point fingers just yet.

There’ll inevitably be soul searching done in the months ahead, but the focus now has to be on one thing - results. All it takes is one, and life would be a lot easier if it came against Drogheda.

I’ve been accused by many people down the years of not liking Waterford FC, of having a go and not wanting them to succeed. What I would say to that is that it’s naturally easier to criticise than compliment, but I will always land on what’s warranted. 

I’ve seen firsthand the steps this club has made to make a difference on many levels in this community, what Premier Division status enables the club to do in other avenues - and that’s why I’m saying anything other than survival is going to be a disaster. The RSC has to be bouncing on Friday night, and Drogheda can’t be bouncing back out of there.

Cork City are gone, yesterday’s dinner. It’s likely Dundalk will get the job done in the First Division. Let’s not let another club say they’re the only Premier Division side in Munster next season.

There’s been times this year where I’ve watched Waterford FC and I’ve questioned if they’re even the best club in the county when watching Villa in the Waterford Premier League. All will be forgiven with survival, and the reviews can begin then.

Anything else, and those reviews become post-mortems - the First Division isn’t called the graveyard for the fun of it. There won’t be a fingernail left in Waterford come November 1st - but that’s a small price to pay for Premier Division football in 2026.

Step up or slide down. Simple as that.