At the start of this season, Cork City were not expected to be challenging for the SSE Airtricity League title.
But they came within a final day showdown defeat at Dundalk of claiming the trophy, capturing the imagination in Cork along the way.
Tonight, manager John Caulfield spoke to Off The Ball about some of the challenges of League of Ireland management, including the instability of the off-season.
"You'd hope some day that there would be a proper full-time league here. I think the potential is there for that. At the moment, we have too many clubs in the country and we probably need to narrow it down to 12 - 14 clubs max," he said.
Answering a question from the crowd about the level of respect for the league based on the way in which young Hull full-back Brian Leninhan was fast-tracked into the Ireland squad shortly after leaving Cork for English football, Caulfield gave a considered response to the situation, saying he was thrilled and chuffed for Lenihan.
"It is an image and status thing," he admitted, saying the knock on effect was that English clubs scouted the league more which should encourage players to stay at home longer.
Caulfield shared his recollection of the matches against Bayern Munich in the 1991-92 season, while he also revealed what he hopes to learn on a fact finding mission at PSV Eindhoven as part of his UEFA Pro Licence
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
