Stephen Bradley says he snubbed Lincoln City because he wants ‘to finish what he started’ at Shamrock Rovers.
And the Hoops boss got back to winning ways in great style tonight after his champions stuffed Finn Harps in Tallaght.
Earlier, Bradley committed his immediate future to Rovers by rejecting the League One club's advances after a week of tense, see-saw negotiations that went to the wire.
Bradley, who is targeting Europe’s group stages this summer, said: “It was a difficult decision because they are a really good club with really good people.
“They have a really good plan, a club going in the right direction. But so are we, and I felt we’ve started to build something here."
Bradley confirmed that Lincoln also wanted his right-hand men Stephen McPhail and Glenn Cronin to join him in England.
But he added: “We feel we owe it to those around us - players and staff - to finish what we started. We weighed everything up and had a good, long think about it and had a chat.
“But sometimes you feel we’re not quite finished and we get that feeling that there’s more to come from this group, more to come from us.
“Hopefully we can prove that this year. It’s always nice when you get recognised (by another club), it shows we’re doing okay.”
And Bradley accepts that his decision to stay could be viewed as a vote of confidence in the League of Ireland.
He continued on LOI TV: “I think in the past people have jumped at the first chance, so hopefully it shows that there is progress.
“We would all like it to be quicker but there is progress. But everyone's path is different, everyone thinks differently and, for me, this is the right decision.
And Bradley, whose grandmother died during the week, also revealed that Shamrock Rovers captain Ronan Finn played a central role in convincing him to stay.
“I had a really good chat with Ronan during the week,” added the Hoops boss, who has been in charge since 2016 and is chasing a third title in a row.
“We had an honest and open chat about the group, about where we are and what we can achieve and what we've achieved already.
“It was nice to have that chat and he definitely played a part.”
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
