Pat Walker

Walker as manager of Sandefjord (2008)

Patrick Walker ( born December 20 1959 in Carlow ) is a former Irish football player who now works as a coach. His sons Kevin and Robert Walker are both self- football player.

Career

Playing career

Walker's talent was discovered by a scout as a student. He therefore left his hometown in 1976 and joined the FC Gillingham. In October 1977, he received his first professional contract on his league debut on January 13, 1978 against Colchester United, he scored as a substitute for the hit 1-1 draw. For the team he ran in the following years in the Third Division of the Football League on. In addition, it was after he had already contested ten caps for the Irish junior national team, was appointed in the summer of 1979 for the Toulon Tournament in the Irish U- 21 team, in which he not been able to establish long-term itself. Also in the club he managed not to longer-term jump in the basic formation and supported the team around players like Billy Hughes, Steve Bruce, Micky Adams or John Overton mainly as a reserve player. In the summer of 1981 he left Gillingham and played in the episode briefly back to the island of Ireland and joined the Irish capital club Bohemians Dublin, with whom he the Irish Cup final in 1983 against Sligo Rovers lost under coach Billy Young 1-2. In Finland he had two Eingagements, 1980, he played for some time in the first division OTP Oulu, 1982 at the third division team Käpylän Pallo.

After Walker had met his, of Swedish origin woman in London, he decided to change in 1983 in her native country. He joined the Gothenburg club BK Hacken, with which he, however, at the end of the season in 1983 descended from the Allsvenskan. Until 1986 he remained the club in the second division faithful. He then returned to the Allsvenskan as he for playing time in 1987 joined the GIF Sundsvall. After three years he went down well with his new club, but managed with the team direct resurgence. In 1991, he had to end his career due to injury.

Coaching career

Walker had already visited in his time at FC Gillingham trainer courses of FA. Directly after end of his career he started training at unterklassig antretenden Varberg BoIS, in which his sons did their first footballing steps. 1994 promoted him from the second division side Kalmar FF. With the team he finished one point behind behind the Gothenburg club Örgryte IS second place and had to play in the relegation to promotion to Allsvenskan, but there sat the Stockholm club Hammarby IF by. After a fourth place in the following season, the club slipped into the 1996 end of the table, so that the club parted from him.

In 1998, Walker as coach at Örebro SK and supervised the team on the side of Sven Dahlkvist. Then he went to his former station game GIF Sundsvall. With the club he achieved in the 2003 in the relegation matches against BK Hacken in the league. Despite a seventh place in the following year he decided to seek a new challenge and left the club at end of season. He returned to Örebro SK, which had relegated from the first division. After a fifth place in the first year the team came in second as the second division season 2006 back to excellence. There, Walker played with the club to stop a down and after some moderate results decided the club's management, indemnify him in August 2007.

In May 2008, Walker signed with Norwegian club Sandefjord Fotball a two-year contract. At the end of the season he went with the team on in the Tippeligaen, so that the club's management extended his contract early in April 2009 to the end of 2010. In the first division, he finished with the team to eighth place in the table. Although he rose with the team at the end of the 2010 season in the second division, the club held on to it yet. After a weak start to the season in the Adecco Ligaen in the following season but dismissed him the club, on interim basis by Mikael Kallstrom and later Arne Sandstø replaced him.

In August 2011, Walker returned as coach to Sweden. In Assyriska Föreningen he took over the office of Göran Marklund, who had to be exchanged Rikard Norling Malmö FF replaced on an interim basis.