Ian Morris: 'Business has been done really well in the club and it's sustainable - I don't think that's been written about or talked about'

Tuesday marks nine months since Shelbourne announced the surprise appoint of Ian Morris as the manager they hoped would lead them back to the Premier Division.

The 31-year-old came into the job without any experience of senior league management but an impressive record on the field that included ten years in English league football.

Still, few expected him to hang up his boots so young, though he had balanced playing in the Bohemians first team over three years with a role as the club’s youth development officer.

There was little suggestion the versatile midfielder, who played across the backline for Keith Long’s side, was winding down his career at that point.

His was the screamer at Turner’s Cross in September that gave the Gypsies hope of an FAI Cup final date at the Aviva Stadium – it would turn out to be one of his final acts as a professional player.

For a new and ambitious Shelbourne ownership, the appointment of a rookie coach seemed to have an air of risk about it, too.

Having let the experienced Owen Heary go the previous month, despite him reaching the promotion play-offs weeks earlier, many expected them to hire someone with proven experience of promotion.

The likes of Pete Mahon, Martin Russell, Tony Cousins and Tommy Dunne had all taken teams up to the Premier Division and were out of work, but Shels chose their man in Morris.

“Every day seems to throw up something different or something I have to deal with,” Morris tells extratime.ie.

“You make mistakes all the time and you have to learn from them very quickly in this job. It’s been very stressful but it’s been very enjoyable. It’s been a really good year and long may it continue.”



Shels were, as recently as the mid-2000s, a powerhouse of Irish football but long-term financial problems has seem them spend 11 of the past 13 seasons in the second tier.

With an eight-point lead at the top going into the final five series of games, it would take sequence of results for that to turn into a 12th but, then again, nothing can be taken for granted at Tolka Park.

A number of eye-catching signings from Premier Division clubs in the off-season created the impression among many observers that the league would be a cakewalk for Shels.

Morris’ former Bohemians teammates Dan Byrne and Oscar Brennan arrived, as did Conan Byrne and Ryan Brennan from St Patrick’s Athletic and Luke Byrne from Shamrock Rovers.

Perhaps the most eye-catching capture saw multiple title-winner Ciaran Kilduff return from a stint in America with Jacksonville Armade and commit himself to a two-year deal at Tolka Park.



Ryan Brennan arrived from St Patrick's Athletic - one of a number of high-profile Premier Division arrivals.

Kilduff, at 30, has vast experience that includes Europa League group stages with Rovers and Dundalk, where his goal against Maccabi Tel Aviv securing the first group stage win for an Irish club.

Rightly or wrongly, the impression was formed that Shelbourne, with the money they had behind them, only had to turn up to win the league.

With the likes of Longford Town, Drogheda United and Bray Wanderers also investing to target the one automatic promotion spot, Morris knew it was never going to be that simple.

After a scare on the opening day at a teenage Galway United side, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, Shels lost three of the remaining games in the first series and went out of two cups.

“In football, no one has the right to win every game and no one has the write to win a league,” Morris continues.

“With how early I got business done, I think there was nothing else to write about towards November, December, January, and then everybody else started putting their squads together.

“I think a lot of what was written early on in the season was a little bit over the top. We put a decent squad early in the season, but what’s been written about budgets and stuff is a bit pie-in-the-sky.

Morris took the decision to hang up his boots at the age of 31 to manage Shels full-time.

“I think business has been done really well in the club and it’s sustainable, which is the main thing. I don’t think that’s been written about and been talked about.

“I think it’s just a stick to flog the club with and I think it’s fairly unjustified, but I’m by no means pleading the pauper.

“We’ve fantastic funds we’ve been able to come up with. There’s a hell of a lot of people in worse cases or scenarios that I am.”

One of the sides to beat Shelbourne in that opening series were Cobh Ramblers, with teenagers Jaze Kabia and Denzil Fernandes both on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win.

The July transfer window saw both players make the move to the Reds and, as coincidence would have it, Saturday sees Morris’ side return to St Colman’s Park for the first time since.

With both players contracted until the end of 2020, the two signings underline Morris’ argument that Shels are building more than just a First Division-winning side – they’re looking down the line.

“I think they’re going to improve the squad and improve the club going forward. Luckily enough, we got them over the line and we got them done for next year as well.

“We’re really pleased, and everyone has seen the impact they’ve had since they came in. They’ve settled in really well.

“It’s a credit to the characters we have in the changing room that they’re two young lads and they’ve welcomed them with open arms.”