Vinny Perth insists it wasn't a case of jobs for the boys in bringing Alan Reynolds to Dundalk as Ruaidhri Higgins' replacement.
Perth previously worked with Reynolds - who vacated the Waterford hot-seat to move to Oriel Park - when they played together at Longford Town and subsequently when they were on Stephen Kenny's coaching staff at Derry City.
“I certainly didn’t hire a mate or somebody I was overly close to,” said Lilywhites boss Perth.
“When we played against each other we kicked lumps out of each other and we would not have been bosom buddies.
“When you look at the job he has done, he got Waterford to an FAI Cup final as player-manager in 2004 and got them to Europe a few seasons back.
"He has European experience with Derry and he won a league with Pat’s, and did a double at Cork as an assistant.
“His development of young players has been really impressive and his knowledge of young players coming back from the UK is excellent. He is one of the highest regarded coaches in Ireland.
“You don’t always pick your best mates. You pick people who make your club better.
"Maybe we will become good mates because we had 20 or 30 phone calls this week so he’s starting to get used to me!”.
