FOOTBALL: Doolin takes temporary charge of Portadown
Former midfielder will be in place until the end of the seasob
Portadown have appointed former midfielder Paul Doolin as interim manager until the end of the season.
The 58-year-old Dubliner made just under a century of appearances for the Ports across two spells in the Nineties - winning the Irish League and Irish Cup double in 1991 under Ronnie McFall.
Doolin takes over from Matthew Tipton, who departed Shamrock Park after almost four years in charge and with the club 11th in the Danske Bank Premiership table, seven points from safety.
Portadown Chairman David Jameson said: "We are delighted that Paul has agreed to join PFC as our new interim manager. We look forward to the wealth of experience Paul can bring to Portadown to ensure we stay in the Premiership."
Portadown Director of Football Peter Hunniford added: "As a board of directors, Paul Doolin is someone who we have rated highly for quite some time. He has played at the highest level in both the Irish league and the League of Ireland before moving into management where he was been highly successful at both club and international level. We are looking forward to working with him"
As a player, Doolin also had successful at Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City, Shelbourne, Dundalk and UCD, winning 17 major trophies.
He then went on to become player-coach of UCD before joining Drogheda in 2003. They won the FAI Cup the following year before back-to-back Setanta Cups in 2006 and 2007 and the League title for the first time in their history.
After a spell at Cork City, Doolin took charge of the Republic of Ireland Under-19 side between 2010 and 2016, leading them to the semi-finals of the European Championships in 2011.
His most recent managerial position was with League of Ireland First Division club Athlone Town, who he managed from August 2021 before departing in November after opting against extending his stint with the Midlanders at the end of his short term deal.
Portadown are at home to Crusaders this evening (7.45pm) in what is expected to be Doolin's first game in charge.