15/07/2026
David Healy has spoken for the first time about being linked to the Shelbourne job, insisting that he was never interested in taking over at the League of Ireland club while outlining his determination to see out his contract at Windsor Park which runs until 2028.
“Absolutely nothing. I went down to watch Shelbourne two Fridays ago against Dundalk, as always in preparation for the potential of us playing in the next round.
“I do it frequently. I do it consistently. I have a lot of contacts in the League of Ireland because myself and (Linfield’s Head of Recruitment) Willie McKeown and sometimes Ross (Oliver) travel to games.
“Shelbourne were at home to Dundalk and I took the opportunity to go and watch the game.
“People see you at games and then sometimes all of a sudden things get talked about.”
Quizzed on if he had talks with Shelbourne at any stage, Healy replied: “I don’t know where that came from. We had a European game to be dealing with.
“At the Shelbourne game, I sat beside Lee Glover from Doncaster. I didn’t read somebody saying that I was in talks to become Doncaster’s next kit man or assistant manager or manager!
“I’ve been to Shelbourne previously where I’ve sat beside Heimir Hallgrimsson, the manager of Ireland.
“He was probably glad the game was over because I was peppering him with questions.
“You build up a network of contacts when you’re down there. One thing I would say, all the clubs that you go to, you are treated extremely well and we always enjoy going to the games.
“So for me, there was nothing in it.”
“One thing that I’ve always tried to do and say in my agreement with Jim Kerr, my first chairman at Linfield, and Roy McGivern, my second, is that, and it doesn’t always work out, I always want to see my contract through,” he said.
“There were times when I was signing extensions at the football club that it was designed around my eldest daughter and sometimes it was around my eldest son when they were finishing in school.
“We have a young daughter now who’s moved into secondary school here and the hope was always going to be that she would see as much as that as possible without having to be disrupted or moved. That will continue. I have two years left.
“I’ve had numerous opportunities to speak to (clubs) and been encouraged to potentially leave this football club which I’ve dismissed on numerous occasions.
“I don’t think I owe Linfield anything and I mean that in the kindest way. I’ve dedicated basically 11 years of my life for every trophy and every game that we try and win here.”
He added: “A lot goes into managing Linfield. It’s not just getting ready for a game and the training and the coaching.
“We’re managing young men in a society that’s overrun with negativity and concern for men’s mental health. I’ve had to change the way we manage over the last number of years. I’ll continue to do that.
“I don’t have to just be a coach and a manager. I have to basically be a father figure. I have to be there for them which I’m trying to do so there’s a lot that goes into it.
“People may say my job is being here at 7 o’clock in the morning and leaving at 1pm, but my phone’s on all day for a potential problem. I have to be ready to react in a positive way that I think I’ve done in my 11 years at Linfield.
“So I don’t think I owe anybody anything and I don’t look at Linfield and say Linfield owe me anything. They don’t, but it’s been a strong mutual relationship.
“The challenges come this year with ‘we didn’t win the league last season’ and everybody will be expecting or hoping for an improved Linfield performance.
“That leads into us always wanting to go into any league title or any cup competition where we want to win and we want to be successful.”
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