Athlone Town are delighted to announce Mike Kerley as first team manager for the 2011 season. Mike replaces Brendan Place who left the club at the end of last season and brings with him plenty of experience, having spent 16 years playing for Kilkenny City, Limerick, and Cork City before taking up a number of coaching roles.
He began his managerial career with the Limerick FC u21 side in 2002. Following that, he served as assistant manager of Limerick FC in 2003 before he took over as caretaker manager of the club following the departure of Noel O’Connor. He was then appointed as manager and he guided Limerick to the play-offs in 2003. He was appointed as manager of Waterford United in December 2005, but his term at the helm ended in July 2006. He returned to Limerick 37 replacing Paul McGee who was sacked by the club before Mike himself was replaced just prior to the start of the 2009 season by Pat Scully. Mike is currently involved in coaching UL’s Collingwood Cup side.
Mike currently holds a UEFA pro licence.
Speaking of the appointment chairman Tony Knight said, “While the appointment of a manager has taken longer than many expected the committee felt it was very important that a decision was not rushed into and the person coming to the club had the abilities to develop the club structure from the under age set-up through to the first team. Mike has the foresight, qualifications, and experience to bring Athlone Town forward and we look forward to him developing strong teams here at the club.”
A number of announcements including the backroom staff and players are expected over the coming two weeks.
