Pat Fenlon’s Shamrock Rovers timeline of events

6^th of August 2014:

Pat Fenlon is confirmed as new Shamrock Rovers manager taking the reins from Trevor Croly. Fenlon takes over with Rovers twelve points behind league leaders Dundalk and lying outside of the European places. Fenlon was tasked with guiding the Hoops into the European places in his first season.

2nd of November 2014:

Fenlon and his Rovers side have to rely on St Pats beating Derry City in the FAI Cup final to qualify for the Europa League after finishing outside the European spots by 3 points.

6th of March 2015:

Fenlon gets his debut full league campaign off to a flying start by beating St Pats 1-0 in Tallaght. Expectations were high coming into Fenlon’s first full season with Rovers looking to challenge at the top of the league once again.

17th of April 2015:

Rovers took on Dundalk for the first time of the 2015 season and came into the game unbeaten. It would be a real test to see if the Hoops could keep up with and challenge the Louth side for the title. Dundalk scored a goal either side of the half time break and it looked like it was a step too far. But a controversial sending off for Dundalk keeper Gary Rogers, before a quick fire double from Mikey Drennan, sealed a point for the Hoops and kept them on track with their title rivals.

12th of June 2015:

A 3-1 loss against Bohemians in the Dublin Derby saw Rovers go into the mid season break 7 points off top of the table Dundalk. This, paired up with falling at the first hurdle in the FAI Cup to St Pats a fortnight before, meant that Fenlon and his side went into the mid season break on a low.

30th of October 2015:

Rovers concluded their disappointing 2015 season with a 5-3 victory over relegated Drogheda United. Finishing third in the league, thirteen points behind champions Dundalk, and defeats in both of the domestic cup competitions to St Pats, wasn’t great reading for Hoops fans and Fenlon alike. Progress to the second qualifying round of the Europa League was the only positive to take before an expected defeat against Norwegian side Odds BK. A bigger concern for Fenlon and the club was the drop in attendances throughout the season as a result of the poor style of football and the bad results.
18th of March 2016:

With Fenlon looking to improve on his 2015 campaign and close the gap between the Hoops and Dundalk, it started very well with three wins out of three and hopes were high going into the first big test of the season at home to St Pats. A 2-0 defeat and a poor performance saw hopes of possibly challenging at the top of the table fade.
15th of April 2016:

Following a defeat to Derry City at the Brandywell, Fenlon and his team needed to bounce back strongly against the arch rivals Bohemians. An incredible performance in Dalymount Park saw Rovers come out as 4-0 winners and fans were right behind Fenlon and his side again.

13th of May 2016:

After beating Bohemians, Fenlon and his side were quickly brought back down to earth with back to back defeats in the league to Cork and Dundalk. The Hoops quickly bounced back with three wins in a row,. However, an embarrassing defeat away to Wexford Youths left Rovers once again outside the European places, with attendances continuing to fall.

30th of June 2016:

Fenlon’s time at Rovers dropped to an all time low as a shock 2-0 defeat came in the Europa League First Qualifying Round First Leg to Finish side RoPS. A shocking performance leads to an unexpected defeat leaving the Hoops with a incredibly hard task heading into the second leg. The defeat could prove to be a costly one for the club with an expected €200,000 in prize money being missed out on if Rovers can not turn the tie around.

3rd of July 2016:

In a press release at 15:13, an unexpected announcement from the club revealed that Shamrock Rovers had parted company with Fenlon with immediate effect. He leaves the club 14 points off Dundalk at the top of the table and currently lying outside the European places. With exit from the Europa League on the cards as well, the board of directors seem to have decided enough was enough and ended Fenlon’s time at the club.

Sean Condron