he finished the season with his fourth trip to Wembley in two years, as County were denied promotion from the Second Division by a 2–1 defeat to Burnley. The team finally achieved promotion from the division in 1996–97 as runners-up. This promotion was built on a strong defence, of which Gannon and fellow centre-back Sean Connelly were a major part. The following season, County achieved an eighth-place finish in the First Division. He played under the management of Danny Bergara, Dave Jones, Gary Megson, and Andy Kilner. On 21 March 2000, during a game with Manchester City, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligaments, keeping him out of action for several months. He was awarded a testimonial against Manchester City in August 2000, but got into a dispute with the club over the financial arrangements. He then left the club in November 2000, and issued employment tribunal proceedings for unfair dismissal. Later career The following month he joined Dario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra on non-contract terms. After ten games with Crewe, he returned to Ireland. Following a break from football to obtain qualifications in accountancy, Gannon signed with Shelbourne in August 2001. Despite being appointed as captain upon his arrival, he initially struggled to get into the first team during the 2001–02 League Championship winning season, and considered a move back to England. However, he found himself a key member of the defence when new manager Pat Fenlon took over. Under Fenlon, Gannon helped the "Shels" to a second-place finish in 2002–03, and also played in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, scoring past Hibernians in a 2–2 draw at the Ta' Qali National Stadium. He did not feature extensively in the club's 2003 League Championship winning side. Gannon holds a unique record, having scored in all four English divisions, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Full Members Cup, the English League play-offs, the League of Ireland, the FAI Cup, the League of Ireland Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. He has received two distinguished honours from Stockport's supporters since leaving the club – being elected to the Stockport Hall of Fame and as Honorary Vice President of the Hatters Independent Supporters Club. His 479 club appearances puts him in third spot in Stockport's all-time appearance list and his 65 goals are ninth in their scoring records. Managerial career Dundalk In June 2004 he was appointed to his first managerial