Dundalk appointment of Noel King seems like a 'strange move' - Paul Corry

If Noel King's appointment as Dundalk manager seemed to come out of left-field, it was also a "surprise" to the man himself.

And as the 67-year-old gets his feet under the table at Oriel Park, the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 and Shelbourne women's boss is under no illusion that he will have to win over some fans who are sceptical about whether he is the right person to try and turn a struggling team around.

King, who briefly served as the Boys in Green interim manager in 2013, has not managed in the League of Ireland Premier or First Divisions since a spell at Finn Harps 21 years ago but has now been tasked with being the permanent successor to Stephen O'Donnell, with the remit of attempting to lift the Lilywhites off the bottom of a top flight table that the club dominated during the latter half of the 2010s.

His elevation appears to owe much to a decades-long connection with Dundalk's current owner Brian Ainscough but nevertheless, the decision to appoint him represents a somewhat "strange" choice according to former Sheffield Wednesday, UCD and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Paul Corry, who was called up to the Ireland U21s by King in 2012.

"It's certainly one that would have surprised the majority of League of Ireland fans if I'm being brutally honest," he told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

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"I would love to know the involvement of say somebody like Brian Gartland, who's gone in