With 16 days to go until the start of the League Of Ireland, our preview series continues with a trip to the South East to learn more about Wexford FC. Check back in as previews will continue to be released daily until the start of the LOI season.
Location: Ferrycarrig Park, Kitestown, Co. Wexford.
Manager: James Keddy, (1st season in charge)
Last Season Finish: 6th ( W10, D11, L11), finished three points outside promotion play-off places, knocked out in the second round of the FAI Cup to Dundalk 3-2 AET.
Ins and Outs
One of the biggest chances at Wexford since the end of last season will be in the dugout, ian Ryan departed and James Keddy was chosen as the man to succeed him, recently assistant manager at Longford Town and Bray Wanderers before that, he now looks to set the ground running in his first season at the helm of the side.
When he joined Wexford, Keddy said “I am looking forward to assembling a squad that is young, competitive and wants to improve on last year’s position”, since then they have been very much active in the window aiming to build a team that can get them within a chance of fighting for promotion this season.
Ethan Boyle makes the move south after departing Finn Harps, a marquee signing for the club as is a player who brings talent and experience into the side, they have also raided fellow First Division side Longford Town in the window, Aaron Robinson, Mark Hanratty, Ben Lynch, Karl Chambers, Matthew Dunne, Jordan Adeyemo, Colm Cox and Brandon McCann have all swapped red and black for the famous purple and gold colours of County Wexford.
Conor Levingston joins brother Darragh as signing to feature for Wexford in 2023, Aaron Doran is another man to have left Bohemians in favour of moving to Wexford. Kaylem Harnett has moved up the ranks from the academy the 15 year old already making his debut with the first team in the Leinster Senior Cup, with Harry Curtis another youngster they have acquired hoping to get a cut at the senior grade and help them be more competitive this year, while Thomas Considine and Aaron Dobbs have put pen to paper on new deals at the club.
They have signed some very experienced and top quality players with another being Hugh Douglas from Bray Wanderers, the defender will be a big hit at Ferrycarrig Park if he shows his skill and leadership for Wexford and with Boyle also in defence they hope conceding goals will not be an issue. In pre-season they have had Bastien Hery on loan, whether they take a punt on the former Limerick, Waterford, Bohemians, Derry City, Finn Harps and Galway United man, who also had stints in England and also with PSG in his native France.
Having lost Dinny Corcoran as he announced his retirement, they have indeed brought in attackers to fill the void, Adeyemo on his competitive debut at the club netted a hattrick in the Leinster Senior Cup, however notably from a Wexford point of view is that Danny Furlong is back at the club, their all-time leading goal scorer having scored 107 goals in 233 league matches throughout his various stints at the club, returns to bring experience and leadership as the 33 year old is a fan favourite at the club.
While they have strengthened they have also lost players ahead of the season, with former boss Ryan taking several players with him to Bray, Conor Davis, Ger Shortt, Luka Lovic, Harry Groome, Alex Moody, Conor Crowley and Len O’Sullivan have all departed the club, while Conor Barry moves to Limerick to join Treaty United and Jack Doherty another loyal servant of the club moves to Cobh Ramblers.
Club aspirations
Wexford bring a new look to the league ahead of the 2023 season, the club has rebranded with a new badge and kit design paying homage to the history of Wexford. The club crest features three pikes, which nod to the 1798 Rebellion, and combine to form a W, the crest aiming to showcase the tie the club has with their county.
Ditching their black and pink kits from last season, a new brand image of their more traditional county colours will be one of their early aspirations to make the club move forward after last year’s disappointing finish, despite beating Treaty 2-0 on the final night a string of results at the end of the season just did not see them get over the line.
Their main goal for the year is to fight for promotion, it has been a long baron spell for the club since their relegation from the top flight in 2016, they have endured some tough years in the First Division, last year was the first real beacon of light for the club as they spent the previous years either bottom or in the bottom two of the table, having tested the top sides also last year they will be seen as a huge threat going forward, a win last night over St Pats in the Leinster Senior Cup is a big result for them ahead of the LOI season.
Key Fixtures
As far as season openers go, a south-east derby with Waterford is one to wet the appetite for the season ahead, their first five include that home tie with Waterford before taking on Cobh Ramblers (A), Athlone Town (H), Finn Harps (A) and Kerry FC (H). Early season momentum can go a long way for them if they hope to get into the top five this season, points early on can lay the foundations for getting them promoted.
Season Prediction
New management, new players and a new image will hopefully improve on last season’s finish, they will have some tricky ties this season but they will hope to get into those promotion places, but a fight for the title might also be on the cards if they can find their form.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.