Brian O'Driscoll - The Next Play: Niall Quinn on life after football | Off The Ball

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Brian O'Driscoll (0:14)

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 Niall 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.

Niall, thanks so much for joining us. 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 over 20 years ago. So how do you introduce yourself to people these days as to who you are or what you've done?

Niall Quinn (1:09)

Oh, that's a great question.

I've never stopped to work that or figure that out. And I think there's still ex-football, you know, ex-footballer. I actually think about what other people introduce me as now, and it's ex-footballer. And wannabe businessman, I think, has come out in the past as well. And 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 answering that. If I met somebody in the United States who asked me what did I do, I'd just say I was in sport. And because I had seen both sides of sport, I would say yes, I played a bit, and I took part in administration of sport as well. And I hope that the conversation stops there because I really don't even know the answer myself.

Brian O'Driscoll (1:56)

Do you look back on your football career with enormous fondness?

Or how does it sit with you? Did you get everything out of it that you thought you might?

Niall Quinn (2:10)

Probably not. And 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. My football was fine. 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 Reid. So I was brought away on holiday by him and the chairman. And they offered me this lovely role that was set up for me to train under Peter Reid as a coach, to be part of the playing side as well. And over a period of time when Peter Reid 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 Reid as well. So suddenly everything was awash. And I took the team for about ten days. It was the first ever 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 they just came in as Peter Reid got the sack and they decided that would give them more time to get a new manager. And in that ten days, I was asked to take the team for the ten days. They asked my opinion on a number of things. I didn't really... 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 I suppose when the appointment was made, I was like, hmm, okay, that's left field. Howard Wilkinson, the former Leeds manager came.

So he came in that day and the players hung around and he had 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 I waited around and looking back now, I know this is totally his right. He's a new man coming in. But the way he did it, he just said, Niall, thanks for coming in. Thanks for everything you've done here. I really don't see what people see in you. You're not my cup of tea.

And if you train with the injured lads for a couple of months, I will make sure that you get away and I'll get you a club somewhere. And don't upset the fans because they kind of like you around here. I don't know why myself. And I was going, what? I was just there. So my career path was just cut off instantly. But I could have played the game and tried to go somewhere else or I've stayed around for a couple of months, got another little move somewhere.