‘It’s horrible football to play against’: Conan Noonan on Waterford’s remarkable turnaround

Every football team must come to some kind of compromise between the individual and the collective, and Conan Noonan is emblematic of the productive settlement negotiated by Graham Coughlan at Waterford.

The Blues face Derry City on Sunday in a first FAI Cup final appearance in 22 years. The game is an exclamation point at the end of a season in which they improbably avoided relegation under Coughlan’s watch.

Waterford were winless in their first 13 games of the season and adrift at the bottom of the league when Coughlan took over from Jon Daly in May. Only Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers collected more points in the league than Waterford from the moment the new manager took charge.

“It’s a miracle that we’re still in the league, really,” says Noonan. “I don’t know how many points we’ve turned over, but it’s madness. We were 11 points behind [relegated] Sligo going into May. To finish seventh is just amazing. To be here, look, we couldn’t have dreamed it, but we fully deserve it.”

Coughlan preached a few home truths to the Waterford squad when he took over, doubling down on the need to work harder each day. He also stripped the game plan back to basics, making Waterford more defensively obdurate while platforming their prolific strike force of Tommy Lonergan and Pádraig Amond, who finished at one and two in the top scorers’ chart with 31 goals between them.

“When Graham came in, obviously he changed the tide and just got the group closer together,” says Noonan. “He has this clear identity of how he wants to play and it’s been so effective. I wouldn’t want to play against us, you know what I mean? It’s horrible football to play against. We just get the ball in the box and just keep piling, piling on. You can’t help but believe in what you’re doing.”

This approach partly relied on Noonan curbing some of his attacking and creative instincts. Noonan rose through the ranks at Shamrock Rovers, where Stephen Bradley described him as “probably the most naturally gifted player, both-footed, that you will see.” Rovers loaned him to Waterford for the 2025 season, and Noonan made the move permanent in advance of this season as he wanted to have a “bigger influence somewhere else”.

The 23-year-old has had that impact at Waterford – he missed only two league games all season – partly because he has been willing to sacrifice himself for the collective. He has had to be willing to play in a range of different positions, from central midfield to either wing, and always be attentive to tracking back.

[ Graham Coughlan signs multiyear deal to stick with WaterfordOpens in new window ]

“I love to get on the ball, creating chances, and score goals, and that’s not my role now,” says Noonan. “When [Coughlan] came in, it was about adapting, it was about finding a way to be effective in the team. That was playing kind of different. I’ve played a number of different positions and roles and it’s just about being effective in all of them and kind of stripping back my game. But as long as I’m helping the club, I don’t really mind. I’d love to be myself on the football pitch, but as long as the club keeps winning, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

This is not to say there is no benefit to the individual from collective sacrifice.

“In the future you’ll need these skills and need these ways to play and mentally adapt,” says Noonan. “I think it will pay dividends in the future.”

The biggest dividend of all could be paid at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.