It's another bleak mid-winter Sunday and Bubbles (David Wilmot) is still the captain of amateur football team Emmet Rovers who are getting hammered again!

This bunch of losers are playing the same dire football with no heart, no conviction and now, not even a manager. Bubbles, who once played in the big league, is threatening to quit altogether when a mysterious stranger, Walter Keegan (Brendan Gleeson), appears looking to fill the vacant job of team manager. At first, there's disbelief, the lads think Keegan is a famed football Coach fallen on hard times. They deride but give him the job, just for a laugh. However, Walter quickly surprises them with his no-nonsense attitude as he takes full control and literally kicks them in to shape. The new manager turns out to be a maverick with only one agenda: he wants Rovers to win the Cup.