Brandywell boy Conor Loughrey hits the road for Derry City scouting mission

His tactical nous, his ‘football brain’ and trusted relationship with Kenny saw him emerge as a key and respected figure within the Dundalk coaching staff.

Later appointed the Lilywhites’ assistant manager for the 2019 title-winning season, it wasn’t long until Republic of Ireland boss Kenny came calling once more and offered him an attractive role as opposition analyst and Head Scout for the senior Irish national team.

When the opportunity to take charge of Derry City arose it was enough to prise Higgins from a coveted role with the Irish team and test himself in management.

Given his coaching acumen, there’s no-one better placed than Higgins to appoint Derry City’s new opposition analyst as the Candy Stripes prepare for an exciting season which promises so much.

Higgins felt first-team coach Conor Loughrey was the man for the job, a youthful coach with potential whose vision of the game is aligned with the Derry boss’ own ideas and philosophy.

As Derry’s opponents for tonight’s season opener, Dundalk, continued their pre-season preparations against Galway at Eamonn Deacy Park last month, Higgins was sat next to Loughrey in the stands as they discussed potential chinks in the Co Louth side’s armoury.

And while City host Shamrock Rovers at a sold-out Brandywell tonight, Loughrey will be at Richmond Park watching Derry's next opponents Sligo Rovers take on St Pat's ahead of next Monday night's fixture at Brandywell.

And Higgins believes Loughery has the attributes to find those marginal gains when assessing the strengths and weaknesses of opposition teams.

“We all see football differently and all have different opinions on roles within staff but I think, probably because I’ve experienced this role,it’s very important,” said Higgins when explaining his reasons for sending Loughrey on the road on matchdays.

“When you’re choosing the person you want to fulfil that role, they have to think in line with yourself and what you want. Conor has really good ideas in the game. I think he sees football in quite a similar way to the way I see it. He’s only a young man as well so I think at this stage of his career and where he’s at in his development I think it’s a brilliant role. It gives him more responsibility and I think it will bring him on as well as enhance what we’re doing here.

“We travelled to the Galway and Dundalk game and we spoke about what to look out for and what I want but I don’t need to tell Conor what I want. He’s an intelligent person and has an intelligent football brain.”

The 2022 campaign is Loughrey’s third as a coach at the club having previously worked as an U13 and U15 coach in the Academy before being elevated to the first-team coaching staff under Declan Devine last year.

His dual role as analyst and coach requires him to support and understand the requirements of Higgins and the rest of the coaching staff and provide detailed and informed dossiers on forthcoming opposition.

Loughrey, who has completed his UEFA ‘A’ License and worked with the IFA alongside Jim Magilton and Pascal Vaudequin, is excited about his new role even if it requires him to miss Derry City match days. Given his family home at Glendara looks onto the Brandywell pitch, he admits it will be strange not being at the Lone Moor Road venue on a Friday night.

“I grew up in Glendara and you can see my house from here (Mark Farren Stand),” explained Loughrey, who played for Derry in the ‘A’ Championship as a player before representing both Oxford United and Maiden City in the Intermediate League.

“So not coming to games will be a bit different. As I said to Ruaidhri, if he had told me that cleaning toilets would help us win a football match then that’s what I would do. If going to opposition grounds and getting the slightest bit of information could help and improve us the following week then I’m more than happy to do that.

“Obviously there will be great games and nights at the Brandywell I will miss but I’ll watch them later. If we can win enough football matches and it means that I personally miss some good nights at the Brandywell or really good away days then so be it as long as we’re winning football matches.”

As a young coach, Loughrey admits it was daunting initially when taking his first coaching drills at the club but he’s relishing working with top players and has confidence in his ability. His time working in the Academy and his familiarity with those youngsters making the breakthrough into the first team will also benefit him.

“For everybody in football, there’s going to be times when you get it wrong. There’s going to be failures. I’m accepting of that which takes that fear away a bit for me. It’s probably more so dealing with peers and players, some of whom are older than me which was the part initially which was a bit daunting. But I think after the first half-hour of the first session all that leaves. If you’re okay with people and can communicate properly and effectively then you’ll still get the messages across that they accept and if they don’t you can have healthy debate around it as well.

“I’m always learning from others. I think a good coach is a good thief who steals stuff off other coaches and adds their own spin on it here and there. What we’ve tried to do is look at how we prepare for a game and try to incorporate that into all our sessions and have certain themes which have worked quite well.”

Constantly learning, Loughrey believes his new role as opposition analyst will enhance his own skillset.

“I’ll pick up parts from Ruaidhri in terms of how he would have presented things to the managers he worked for when he did the role and also how he wants the information to be presented to him.

"Having worked with Ruaidhri last season and understanding how he sees the game and what he wants to see, I think we see the game very similarly which is probably the reason why I’ve ended up with this role this year. It’s exciting. It’s something different and it will broaden my own horizons as well.”