Danny Searle: 'There has to be a bloodline into the club from your academy'

There’s a real sense of hunger in the Waterford camp ahead of the new season. While the Blues remain the bookies favourite to lift the First Division trophy come October, manager Danny Searle and his squad of players are not taking their position for granted. 

New to the squad is Giles Phillips, who Searle has worked with before at Aldershot Town, and he sensed the determination from the moment he walked into the Waterford dressing room. 

“The hunger to do better than last season is massive. That’s our biggest goal this season is do better and win the league. The hunger that everyone is showing, from the staff outwards is noticeable, and it’s exciting to join that kind of group,” Phillips said, speaking to extratime.com.

Despite losing standout players from the last couple of seasons, Searle has attempted to plug the gaps and strengthen the squad further. Connor Parsons and Chris Conn-Clarke are two exciting, tricky players that Blues fans hope will meet the standards set by Phoenix Patterson and Junior Quitirna. 

Searle expects to bring more players in, “We definitely need to add some more. That’s the goal, that’s the aim. Everyone’s working behind the scenes to do so," the Blues' boss told extratime.com

The one thing Searle is intent on fixing before the transfer window closes is the lack of depth in the squad.

“When it came to making big changes at big moments, we didn’t really have the personnel to do it. We had a very young bench, sixteen and seventeen year olds. They could have stepped in and done an amazing job, but you don’t know.”

“They’re all aware, no one’s guaranteed to start this year; you have to earn the right. The reason I’ve brought Giles in - I’ve worked with Giles before - he knows that mentality and that’s what he’s brought to the dressing room, along with the lads that we have added as well and the ones we’ve retained. The business we’ve done so far is good, but definitely a bit more to do.” 

Fans can still expect to see players introduced to the first team from the academy structure this season. With the likes of Darragh Power, Shane Griffin, Niall O’Keefe and Paul Martin graduating to senior football, that pathway is vital to Searle.

“You look at last season, Dean Larkin played regular for the first team, Owen Oseni was regular, we’ve got Romeo whose breaking into the scene.”



“There has to be a bloodline into the club from your academy. Two reasons - one, I think it’s good for the community, and two, financially it makes a lot of sense. My background was academy football, I believe in that and productivity is crucial for any club in my opinion.”

“It has to be the model. We’ve got an owner who thoroughly believes in that as well. If you look at what Fleetwood do, we have to mirror that.” 

The relationship between Waterford and Fleetwood has already begun to transcend their joint owner Andy Pilley. Fleetwood fans travelled over to Dublin for Waterford’s promotion/relegation playoff with UCD last November and fifty Waterford fans are flying over to the UK to watch Fleetwood play in the coming weeks. 

“There’s a real family feel around everything that Andy [Pilley] has tried to do. The fans can see a vision. The record season ticket sales are great - am I surprised? Not really because I think people can see what we’re trying to do.”

Waterford’s newfound relationship with Fleetwood has also allowed two Blues players to make the move to England in the off-season. Phoenix Patterson has already captured the imagination of Fleetwood fans, gaining an assist in their recent FA Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

“I think any Waterford, Irish football fan worth their salt would have seen that we would lose Phoenix if we didn’t get promoted”, admitted Searle. 



Junior Quitirna’s move to Fleetwood, and immediately out on loan to Altrincham Town was a surprise to Blues fans, given he had already been announced as re-signed. However, when complications arose about his visa, an easy move to England within the same organisation would allow for the possibility of a return to the RSC for Junior Quitirna. Danny Searle believes that is a strong possibility. 

“The Junior one was a bit of a shock. It’s one of those things that happens in football. Visas play a part when you’re not a part of that nationality - that’s something we have to get sorted, and I’m sure it will.” 

“I’m sure we’ll see him at some point again in a Blue shirt.”

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