Jon Daly was 16 when he made his professional debut so it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about when a kid’s ready for the step up.
He wasn’t long figuring that out as a player and now he’s getting to grips with the idea as a manager, after giving Mason Melia a first-team debut for St Pat’s in last night’s 3-0 victory over St Pat’s.
At 15, Melia became Pat’s' youngest ever debutant - and the third youngest in League of Ireland history.
A striker, who has already been promoted to the Pat’s Under 19 side and has also been included in the Irish Under 17 panel that will travel to the European Championships in Hungary this week, Melia’s name is one to remember.
So, from a coaching perspective, is Daly’s.
Right now he is interim manager of St Pat’s but the way he’s going, after guiding the team to two wins from two during his caretaker period stint, a promotion is possible.
That’s for the future. Now the past. Way back in 1999, Daly was a 16-year-old protege, signed by Stockport County, when he was handed a first-team debut against Walsall.
As time moved on and he enjoyed a fine career, he confessed that while he was ready physically at that age, psychologically he probably wasn’t.
In this context, his decision to give Melia a taste of first-team action last night wasn’t taken lightly. He did it out of expediency, yes - ‘we had no other strikers on the bench’ - but also because he knows the kid is ready.
Daly said: “Sometimes as a young player a little bit of luck is what you need. So, Eoin Doyle is suspended, Tommy Longergan has been unwell in the last few days. We’re 0-0, and if you look around and see (veteran striker) Eoin Doyle sitting among the subs then you're probably going to put him on.
“But he’s not there. Mason is.
“Now, okay we are short on strikers at the moment but you also have to say that he is there on merit because he has been playing really well in our academy and has also been playing above his age range.
“That’s a massive thing because when academy players play up (at a higher age group) they get into good habits.
“When they play at their own age they can sometimes take too many touches because they are above that level.
“Mason has been exceptional at Under 19s level for us. I have seen him score numerous goals for the U19s, score against Wexford (at senior level) in the Leinster Senior Cup.
“I know he can finish and I know his movement is good. So I turned to him because I needed a goal and I trusted him to get one. He made an impact and helped the team win 3-0.”
That result was in doubt for 80 minutes, Drogheda the better team in the first half, Pat’s becoming progressively better as the night wore on. As the game drew to its conclusion, the home side finished ruthlessly, Jay McClelland with one goal, Chris Forrester with the latter two.
Daly said: “I felt we were a bit slack in possession. We gave away the ball too cheaply at times. Sometimes it's down to you, sometimes it's down to the opponent and I thought Drogheda were very good.
“Their shape was good. We've been working on a couple of things tactically that, the way the game developed we probably needed to change it slightly.
“We remain a work in progress but to come away with a 3-0 win against a side as good as Drogheda, a side who do not give up many goals, is great for us.
“The pleasing elements of it were that we kept going and didn't stop. When it was 0-0 we kept pushing, probing and looking for that goal, even when we got the second one we wanted to again. And even the third one a minute to go we were still pushing. That’s satisfying from my point of view.”
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