Ruaidhri Higgins close to surpassing Stephen Kenny's European record at Derry City

Ruaidhri Higgins will become the most successful manager in Derry City’s European history if he wins just two games in this year’s Europa Conference League campaign.

In just his third European campaign as a manager, Higgins has already achieved success on a level which a number of his predecessors haven’t, with last year’s memorable run, which saw the Candystripes play three qualifying rounds, the club’s most successful run in Europe since 2006.

While his first European test ended with defeats home and away against FC Riga in 2022, Higgins bounced back last year, with his team beating HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands, KuPS of Finland and Tobol Lostanay, before eventually being eliminated on a penalty shoot-out at the end of the second leg tie against the team from Kazakhstan.

Those three victories leaves him just one win behind Stephen Kenny, who amassed three victories in the ‘European Dance’ of 2006, defeating IFK Gothenburg twice before that famous demolition of Gretna at Fir Park. Kenny also enjoyed a victory over Skonto Riga just two years later in his second spell in charge of the club.

Victory in Gibraltar tonight would see Higgins match his predecessor for European victories as Derry City manager, but it is not something he is actively chasing, with the team’s goals far above his own.

“It's not my motivation,” he said. “I'm the most self-critical person that you'll ever come across. Them things don't interest me. It's about our players and supporters and the football club. There'll be someone in after me and then there'll be someone in after him as well so it's not really about me, it's about creating memories for the players and their families and supporters and I think we've done that well last year in Europe and hopefully we can do it again.”

Higgins does admit however that he us learning from each European campaign and enjoys testing himself against a different level of opponent in European competition.

“That's why you're in the game,” he continued. “You're in the game for these experiences and I think they make you better. I think they improve you as an individual and collectively. Probably as a player and as a coach and as a manager I've been involved in a hell of a lot of European fixtures. My brief time in Ireland as well, I've experienced a lot there as well. We've had amazing experiences so I don't take it for granted. Football is an ever-evolving industry. The day you know it all, the day you think you're great, your time's up, your time's over.

“There are always people better than you out there and you have to keep learning, keep evolving. These types of events and these types of fixtures help you evolve as a coach, as a player, as a manager, as everything. Aye, so you can't beat these experiences but they're only enjoyable experiences if you won and we need to go and try and win the game.”

‘Progression all that matters’

Derry City have not won a European tie away from home since 2018, when Kenny Shiels’ side defeated Dinamo Minsk 2-1 only to exit the Europa League 3-2 on aggregate. Since then, trips to Lithuania, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Finland and Kazakhstan have gone by without a win. Only Stephen Kenny (IFK Gothenburg) and Peter Hutton (Aberystwyth) have won both legs of a European tie for Derry City, so far, but for Higgins, progression is the ultimate goal. Win, lose, or draw tomorrow evening, the City boss wants to be the one celebrating next Thursday night at the Brandywell.

“I don't care as long as we get through after the two legs,” he stated. “We drew two away games and lost one early last year. We won all three home games. I don't care as long as we get through the round. I don't care how it pans out as long as we get through. Obviously, I would like to come back here with a victory under our belt, but it's not always possible. But we'll do everything we can to achieve it.”