Brian O'Driscoll - The Next Play: Niall Quinn on life after football | Off The Ball
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What is the premise of “The Next Play” series and who is the guest?
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Hi there, welcome to the next play with me, Brian O'Driscoll, where I'm speaking to ex-athletes about their transition from their playing days into their new walk of life. Today's guest is Nal Quinn, the renowned Republic of Ireland, Arsenal, Man City and Sunderland footballer who talked us through his playing days and then his transition into being executive chairman of Sunderland Football Club, amongst other things. Hope you enjoy.
No, thanks so much for for joining us. Um I'm always really interested in people that have had success in the first part of their life, in their initial career, and in your case it's you know, over twenty years ago. So how do you introduce yourself to people these days as to who you are or what you've done.
Oh, that's a great question.
How does Niall Quinn describe his identity after retiring from football?
I've never I've never stopped to work that or figure that out and I think there's still ex foot you know, ex footballer. I actually think about what other people introduce me as now and it's ex footballer. And um wannabe businessman, I think, has has come out in the past as well. I I suppose the identity left me and I'm still not sure to this day what I am. I think that's the best way of of answering that. If I met somebody in the United States who asked me what did I do, I just say I was in sport. And because I had seen both sides of sport, I would say yes, I I played a bit and I I took part in administration of sport as well. And And hope that the conversation stops there because I really don't even know the answer myself.
Yeah.
Um do you do you look back um on your football career with enormous fondness um or how does it sit with you? Did you did you get everything out of it that you thought you might? Probably not.
And I I if I look back and I'm very honest with you, Brian, the first few years were just anger, you know, because I had a kind of a sudden ending of my career. Uh my football was fine. I I'd done really well to get to where I got to. I was coming up to 36, I think I was 36 years of age, and I had been given the coaching role, the player coach role at Sunderland by Peter Reed. So I was brought away in holiday. By him and the chairman, and they uh offered me this lovely role that was set up for me to train under Peter Reed as a coach, be part of the playing side as well.
What emotions did Quinn experience when his playing career abruptly ended?
And over a period of time, when Peter Reed would move upstairs, I would then have the opportunity to become manager of Sunderland. So I had my career, my second career laid out for me, and there was a problem. Nine games in, they sacked. Peter Reed. So suddenly everything was was was a wash and and I took the team for about uh ten days. It was the first ever uh international break that the Premier League had because all through my career we played Saturday for your club, Wednesday for your country, Saturday for your club. So we didn't have camps per se. And so uh they just came in as Peter Reed got the sack and they decided that would give them more time to get a new manager. And in that 10 days I was asked to take the team for the 10 days.
They asked my opinion on on the number of things. I didn't re I was caught Peter had been instrumental in getting me this position, he'd been sacked. I was here training the players every day, speaking to the owner that night, asking me questions about different potential managers. And um I suppose You know, when the when the appointment was made I was like, hmm, okay, that's that's that's uh left field. Uh Howard Wilkinson, the former Leeds ma manager came and so he came in that day and I the players, you know, hung around and he had a a kind of a brief chat with them and said he'd see them all individually and he just said to me, I'll see you later and uh I waited around and now looking back now I know this is totally his right.
He's a new man coming in. But the way he did it was you know he just said, Um, Nial, thanks for coming in. Uh thanks for everything you've done here.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the premise of “The Next Play” series and who is the guest?
0:00–1:10
2
How does Niall Quinn describe his identity after retiring from football?
1:10–2:48
3
What emotions did Quinn experience when his playing career abruptly ended?
2:48–5:15
4
How did Quinn’s brief stint as player‑coach at Sunderland lead to a full‑time executive role?
5:15–10:46
5
What challenges did Quinn face while rebuilding Sunderland’s foundation and securing financing?
10:46–20:31
6
How did Quinn handle the managerial appointment saga and Roy Keane’s involvement at Sunderland?
20:31–46:24
Speakers
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