Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins among Ireland's new breed of football managers

​The 38 year-old Derry City boss is among a handful of current managers in the Irish top flight under the age of 40 and ranked amongst the most innovative and exciting in the local game at present.

And the 2022 FAI Cup winner acknowledges that the digital transformation, statistical resources and advancements in technology within the football industry have helped him make a quickfire transition from player to coach.

His good friend Stephen O'Donnell (38) and Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley (38) - schooled in their early playing careers at Arsenal Football Club - are other members of this new breed of manager, all armed with statistics to help inform decision-making.

St. Patrick's Athletic manager and former Drogheda United boss, Tim Clancy, also 38 years-old, is another and secured European football for the Saints last year but it'll be interesting to see how he navigates his way out of choppy 2023 waters in the first real test of his management credentials.

Alongside Damien Duff (44), Kevin Doherty (42) and John Russell (37), those young coaches impressed sufficiently in their respective interviews to secure their maiden managerial posts in the Premier Division while Cork's Colin Healy (43) won the First Division in his second full year in management.

Higgins graduated from the FAI's 2022 UEFA Pro Licence programme alongside Doherty and Clancy - the benchmark for coach education on the continent. Therefore, the Airtricity League top flight is littered with young talented managers who have brought a vibrancy and new football philosophies and ideas to the league.

Bohemians boss Declan Devine currently leads the way in the SSE Airtricity league table after six games and is another disciple of Ireland manager, Stephen Kenny, having honed his managerial skills as assistant to the Dubliner at Derry City and Dunfermline.

However, Devine is building on a wealth of experience in the game since succeeding Kenny as Derry boss in 2012 having been part of the make-up of the League of Ireland in the guise of player, assistant manager and head coach for the guts of 20 years, as well as his lengthy association with the IFA.

Derry chairman Philip O'Doherty took a calculated gamble to hand Higgins the Brandywell job four years shy of his 40th birthday and with no prior experience in management and it has reaped rewards as he delivered a first FAI Cup success in 10 years and a second place finish in the league in his first full campaign.

Arguably his greatest achievement was guiding Derry into Europe the previous season having lifted the winless Candy Stripes off the foot of the table when he took over in April 2021.

Known for his fastidious match preparation and scientific scouting, Higgins believes the technological advances over recent years gives modern managers a special insight into what happens on and off the pitch.

Having played the game at a high level, that lifelong learning obviously plays a factor in their early success as they continue to learn on the job but these days the great football managers mould soft skills such as relationship building and man-management with gathering and analysing match-related data. Leadership qualities and in-game decisions are often instinctive rather than based on an interpretation of data.

However, Higgins reckons the vast resources available to the modern day manager, from player-tracking software to video and data analysis, makes life a lot easier when it comes to analysing opposition players or preparing for games.

It's something he couldn't envisage being without as he tipped his cap to an older generation of football coaches.

"A lot of work goes into preparation for matches and coming up against opposition managers," admitted Higgins. "There's so many more resources for managers now compared to 10 or 15 years ago.

"There are lots of different scouting platforms available and probably that's why there's so much homework done for matches and discussions and debates about how teams will line-up and play against you. I never managed in my life until I got the Derry City job and I'm still very much learning.

"That's why I have huge admiration for managers who managed in the league 10 or 15 years ago when they never had the same stuff at their disposal."

Higgins' rivalries with some of the most astute managers in the game have become intriguing subplots in recent months. No more so than when he goes head-to-head with close friend and former teammate, Dundalk boss O'Donnell, which has proven to be one of the City manager's biggest duels in management so far.

While Rovers boss Bradley has a tried and tested 'blueprint' for success and sticks rigidly to his favoured 3-4-3 formation, loading the midfield with bodies and rarely deviating from his attacking game-plan regardless of the opposition, O'Donnell and Higgins tend to 'think outside the box' when their respective teams go into battle.

Indeed, the City supremo has become renowned for making offensive tactical adjustments and substitutions during games to swing momentum in his team's favour. And predicting his starting line-up can be somewhat of a conundrum for pundits.

Interestingly both Higgins and O'Donnell have been heavily influenced by similar role models throughout their career. Ireland manager Kenny is one such obvious influence and there are further parallels from their formative years when it comes to the ideas they absorbed. Perhaps that football education began during their youth careers at Coventry and Arsenal respectively.

While they have similar views of the game, their close relationship and endless hours chatting tactics has created an unintentional obstacle for both men who've found themselves locked in a battle of like minds when in opposing dugouts.

It's a fascinating rivalry involving many tactical intricacies but when they come against each other, does it become more difficult to out-fox your opponent when you know each other's playbook and football philosophies so well?

"They're (Dundalk) a smashing team and they're well coached. They always throw a wee tactical change in every time," he smiled. "To be fair, I know Stevie and how he thinks about the game so we have to think outside the box," admitted Higgins.

Galwegian O'Donnell also admits there's an aspect of overthinking involved when he comes up against his good friend.

"Yeah, there's a bit of that going on but that's the best part of it," said the Dundalk boss. "You enjoy coming up against good teams, good managers, good coaches.

"That's what it's all about so we enjoy these types of games."

Does O'Donnell approach games against Derry any differently than if he was preparing to face any other League of Ireland manager?

"Not really but you know you're up against a bright one as well so you're thinking; 'What does he think we'll do?' Or what do we think he'll do but ultimately it's about the players. Good players decide matches and there are a lot of good players on show when Derry and Dundalk meet."

On Friday night at Tolka Park Higgins will come up against another manager in Damien Duff, still very much wet behind the ears in terms of management albeit he has a world of experience at the highest level in the game after representing Chelsea and Ireland.

After a 4-0 hammering in the 2022 FAI Cup Final at Aviva Stadium, Higgins certainly holds the upper hand in this specific duel against a fellow 2022 PFAI Personality of the Year nominee, but it will be an intriguing battle nonetheless as the City supremo attempts to edge nearer to a career-defining league title tilt.

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