Graham Coughlan signs multiyear deal to stick with Waterford

Graham Coughlan has rejected coaching offers from the UK to sign a new contract with Waterford FC.

The club say Coughlan has signed a multiyear deal, a significant boost ahead of Sunday’s FAI Cup final against Derry City.

Waterford were rooted to the bottom of the Premier Division and without a win in 13 matches when Coughlan took over from Jon Daly in May. The Dubliner sparked a remarkable turnaround, guiding the club to seventh-place league finish and a first FAI Cup final appearance since 2004.

Only Bohemians and champions Shamrock Rovers collected more league points than Waterford since Coughlan took over.

“Over the last couple of weeks, I had a couple of decent phone calls that I didn’t entertain,” said Coughlan. “‘Thanks but no thanks’ was the swift reply. I was focused on getting this club safe, the contract situation, I didn’t want any talk about it, or any distractions. I wanted to get that [avoiding relegation] done.

“Then we talked about it [a contract extension] on Saturday, and it was done on Sunday. That’s how simple and how easy it was.”

Having made more than 450 senior appearances as a player in England and Scotland, at clubs including Plymouth, Livingstone and Sheffield Wednesday, Coughlan also amassed a vast amount of coaching experience in England’s lower leagues with Bristol Rovers, Mansfield Town, Boston United, and Newport County.