 Connor asGalway United manager | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1967-07-12)12 July 1967 (age 57) | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Matebele FC (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1988 | Distillery | ||
| 1988–1990 | Port Vale | 0 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | →Macclesfield Town (loan) | ||
| 1990–1991 | Ards | ||
| 1991 | Cliftonville | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2004–2006 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 2006–2007 | Bohemians | ||
| 2008–2009 | Dundalk | ||
| 2010–2011 | Galway United | ||
| 2012 | CAPS United | ||
| 2014 | Black Leopards | ||
| 2019–2021 | Institute | ||
| 2024– | Matebele | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sean Connor (born 12 July 1967) is a Northern Irishfootballmanager and former player who is the head coach atBotswana Premier League clubMatebele.
He had a brief playing career which included spells atDistillery,Port Vale,Macclesfield Town,Ards, andCliftonville. He spent some years as acoach in the United States and England before he was appointed as manager ofSligo Rovers in September 2004. He led the club to theLeague of Ireland First Division title in2005. He took charge atBohemians in November 2006 where he became the first manager to achieve UEFA pro-license in the League of Ireland before leaving in December 2007. He was appointedDundalk manager in December 2008 and then joinedGalway United as manager in December 2010. He then had spells coaching in Africa with the Zimbabwean sideCAPS United in 2012 and the South African clubBlack Leopards, who he prepared pre-season for in 2014. He returned to management in Northern Ireland withInstitute in September 2019, where he would remain for two years. He returned to South Africa as technical director atCape Town Spurs in October 2023. He then joinedBotswana Premier League sideMatebele as head coach in August 2024.
Connor began his career atDistillery in theIrish League, playing for the club in the1987–88 season before he joined EnglishThird Division clubPort Vale. He never made an appearance for the "Valiants" in theEnglish Football League. He went out onloan toMacclesfield Town of theConference before he returned to Northern Ireland to play forArds. He was involved in a car accident soon after signing for Ards,breaking hischest bone, someribs,puncturing his lung and damaging his left leg.[1] He made a return to football withCliftonville but retired shortly afterwards.
After spending some time as press officer forBirmingham City, Connor moved to America where hecoached in theUSL First Division underJohn McGinlay forCincinnati Riverhawks,Boston Bulldogs and in theEastern Indoor Soccer League with theLafayette SwampCats.[1] He also spent time coachingnon-League clubs in England andscouting forStoke City andLincoln City.[2]
Connor was appointedSligo Roversmanager in September 2004 upon the recommendation ofSteve Bruce.[2] He led the club to theLeague of Ireland First Division title in2005 as Rovers finished two points clear of second-placeDublin City. He then took the club to fifth place in theLeague of Ireland Premier Division in2006 and the semi-finals of theFAI Cup, where they lost toDerry City after areplay. During his time atThe Showgrounds he signedPremier League andEverton stalwartSéamus Coleman.[1] Connor tendered his resignation in November 2006 after stating that he felt he was "never fully accepted" at the club and life there was like "living in a goldfish bowl".[3]
He was appointed manager ofBohemians in November 2006.[4] He led the "Bohs" to third-place in2007, losing only seven games all season, keeping 16 clean sheets, which was a League of Ireland record at the time, along with earning them a place in theUEFA Intertoto Cup. He took the club to the League Cup final, losing to Derry City in extra time. He also took the club to the semi-finals of the FAI Cup, where they were beaten byCork City atDalymount Park. However, he was sacked by the club after he allegedly made "advances of a sexual nature" to a female volunteer; Connor denied the claim.[5] Connor later took Bohemians to court for wrongful dismissal and the two parties reached an "amicable settlement", which remained confidential.[6]
In December 2008, he was appointed as the manager of newly-promoted Premier Division sideDundalk, who were transitioning from amateur status to becoming professional.[7] He was votedPremier Division Manager of the Month for July 2009, and led the club to a fifth-place finish in the2009 season, earning them a place in the following season'sUEFA Europa League qualification rounds. He resigned in November 2009.[8]
In January 2010, he signed a three-yearcontract to manageGalway United. He led the "Tribesmen" to an eighth-place finish in the2010 season, and arelegation play-off win overBray Wanderers atTerryland Park secured the club a place in the top-flight for the following year. His contract was "terminated by mutual agreement" in September 2011 after the club suffered their 23rd consecutive league defeat.[9]
In January 2012, Connor was appointed as manager ofZimbabwe Premier Soccer League sideCAPS United.[1] His contract was terminated in August 2012 following a poor run of results.[10] He later fledZimbabwe after stating that the club still owed him $90,000, and that the players deliberately underperformed to get him the sack.[10] He spent some time in South Africa without finances as the legal battle with CAPS United continued.[11]
He signed a three-year contract to manage South AfricanNational First Division sideBlack Leopards in July 2014.[12]
He then joined the coaching staff at the Maiden City Soccer Academy inCounty Londonderry in March 2015.[13]
On 14 September 2019, he returned to senior management when he was appointed as first-team manager atNIFL Premiership clubInstitute.[14] The "Sky Blues" were relegated when the2019–20 season was curtailed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland; Connor said the decision to relegate the club without the full fixture list completed was "a very, very sad day for football".[15] The 2020–21 campaign did not take place due to the pandemic.[16] He was later released on 17 August 2021, "following deep and personal discussions".[17]
He returned to South Africa as football consultant and technical director atCape Town Spurs on 3 October 2023 where he developed a strategic 5-year plan for the club.[18] On 1 August 2024, Connor was appointed head coach atBotswana Premier League sideMatebele, in addition to the recruitment team in conjunction with the Technical Director.[19]
He started the sports performance and elite coaching consultancy business Mind Aware Performance in 2018, which deals with clubs, players and organisations to improve, develop and work one-on-one. Connor started the columnsThe Technical Area with theDerry Journal andBelfast Newsletter in January 2019 which appeared fortnightly in both publications.[20] He also worked as radio analyst withOcean FM covering League of Ireland games and with theBBC coveringDerry City and Irish league games.
Individual
Sligo Rovers