Noel King has warned that Dundalk are not too big to go down.
The new Lilywhites boss has been tasked with steering the club away from trouble - and speaking at his unveiling on Tuesday he acknowledged the difficulty of the job at hand.
Dundalk might have won five titles in the past decade, but they are currently stuck at the foot of the table, without a win in their first 11 games.
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They are three points behind Louth rivals Drogheda United and eight adrift of eighth placed Waterford.
King, a shock replacement for Stephen O’Donnell, who lost his job just over a fortnight ago, said: “The first thing is not to be relegated. People can say anything, that Dundalk are a great team who’ll play their way out of it, but it’s difficult when you’re bottom of the league.
“They’re adrift and certain things get in people’s heads that can be a problem. It’s not a given that you’ll just escape and I think that’s why a change (in management) has been made.”
While King’s arrival came as a surprise to fans of the club, the 67-year-old, who had two spells as a player at Dundalk, admitted he too was taken aback by the offer of an 18-month contract.
He was contacted out of the blue last Friday by owner Brian Ainscough, who he knew from his time at Home Farm, and was quick to say yes.
“No hesitation at all,” said King, who was working with Home Farm after leaving the Shelbourne women’s team at the end of last season.
“I was surprised at the offer because I know Brian a long time. No hesitation because it's a great club, one of the best clubs in Ireland success wise. It's a challenge and I'd love to try and make it a success.
“I've seen the last couple of games and they've played quite well, there's a certain confidence in the group, there seems to be good players in the group, and I don't know some of the players in the group, from England and Scotland, I'm not quite sure about them.
“I'm confident of giving it everything I have, I'll be fully fledged to go and try and achieve it. There's enough games left to make an impact without being panicky.”
King added: “He (Ainscough) approached me. My instant reaction was, ‘I'm delighted you rang, I'd love the job, I have to pass it by Maria, my wife’. That gave me a few minutes to think about it.
“(It happened) all in the space of an hour or two, that's all.”
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