Boss Clery raises bar for his side as league set to start

THERE is every possibility that Champions League football could be coming to Galway in the next couple of years, according to a man who knows a thing or two about football, having played in the League of Ireland across 15 seasons.

However, Billy Clery is not talking about Galway United, a club he represented 272 times, as well as a stint at Derry City – instead, he is talking about the Galway WFC side that he is heading into his fifth season in charge of, and a side he believes is on the brink of finally breaking through into the top three.

“We are really looking forward to the season, I am sick of us coming fourth or fifth, I want us to win, I want to get us to the top,” says the Claddagh native, who has added both to his squad, and his backroom team, in a signal of intent ahead of the new campaign, which kicks-off with a home game against Cork City WFC on Saturday, March 27.

“I want the Galway public to come out and support us when they can because I firmly believe this club can be playing in the Champions League in a couple of years. I don’t think too many people can say that about the men’s team, Galway United – there is a far better chance of the women’s team playing in the Champions League than the men, that is the reality of it,” says the former United captain, who also stepped in as caretaker manager of United for four games in 2008 following the sacking of Tony Cousins.

“We also want the business community to get behind us because the club needs that to survive and sustain, we need that to grow the club both on and off the park,” says Clery.

Galway WFC are heading into their ninth season in the national league, and Clery is determined to finally break into that top three – up to now, the best finish the club has managed is 4th, in the 2015/16, the 2018, and the 2019 seasons.

He put the first blocks in place towards achieving that with the addition of Dave Bell as assistant manager, joining himself and Maz Sweeney (coach) on his backroom team. Bell’s appointment is a real statement of intent, considering he was in charge of the Shelbourne side that finished second in the truncated 2020 league campaign.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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