Alex Gulrajani looks at Portadown boss Ronnie McFall, another manager celebrating 25 successful years at one club
Ronnie McFall became the manager of Portadown in December 1986. He is still there 25 years later. A title-winner as a player and manager with Glentoran, the 38-year-old arrived with his hometown club bottom of the Irish League. A quarter of a century on, everything has changed. “I remember that first day well,” McFall recalls. “When I arrived at training, there was only about six or seven lads there. The first thought I had was ‘What have I done?’ The club needed restructuring from head to toe. We had no youth set-up and were rock bottom of the league. Everything had to be rebuilt.”