All packed and ready for the road!
John Evans on his selectors and the future
YOU never get a second chance to make a great first impression. For John Evans and Wicklow, it is so far, so good.
The Kerryman has immersed himself in the Garden County since being appointed to replace Johnny Magee and has made all the right noises to date but there is much, much work to be done as the man says if he wants to make a lasting impression.
Evans takes over a side that managed just one sole success in 2017 across both the league and championship. The task facing Evans and his selectors; Stephen Cushe (Coolkenno), Brian Heaslip (Baltinglass) and Leighton Glynn (Rathnew) is mammoth but he has every faith in the backroom team that he has selected.
“I’m really happy with the three selectors. I think they bring three different dimensions to it – that’s what you need. You need the quiet ones, the thinkers, the solid ones, the tough ones and exuberance. I think I’m very fortunate to have got these three boys in. I appreciate their views every step of the way.”
(On Cushe): “He’s a former stalwart player for Wicklow. He comes with a great knowledge and his age pattern would allow him to be a link between the present and the past. He was a tough, uncompromising player himself and I think he played most of his football at full-back. He is certainly solid and a guy that doesn’t panic and having met him on a number of occasions, I was very impressed with where he holds Wicklow. He has Wicklow at heart and he’ll certainly bring a lot of passion to the game.”
(On Heaslip): “Firstly, he’s a man that has managed and trained Baltinglass. He worked for four or five years under Tommy Murphy as a selector for Baltinglass and he’s been with them and now his sons are playing there and he’d represent the west side of things as Stephen Cushe will represent the south. I would class Brian as a quiet person. He’d be the quietest out of the three selectors but very shrewd. He’s a business man, a successful business man, and that would indicate that he wouldn’t make rash decisions.”
(On Glynn): “He had a riveting county final but I think Leighton brings a lot more than just being a brilliant, brilliant top-class player himself. I think he has a passion and a desire for success and he’s a young man and a young selector. When I asked him to come on board, he asked me what the set-up was and then he was delighted to come on board with me. I certainly think he’ll bring a lot of energy and again, like Stephen Cushe and Brian, he’ll bring high standards to what’s expected of players. He’s going to represent the east side of the county.”
Evans didn’t take on the role without doing some research first. That research didn’t paint his future employers in the best light but as is often the case, Chinese whispers blurred the lines between fiction and the truth and Evans thoroughly enjoyed taking in many championship matches as he scouted future panel members.
“I heard a lot of war stories about this, that and the other about how the football was too physical, too robust. The first thing I’ll say is that it was an excellent championship and there was some great football and some great scores in it. I was impressed by the levels of fitness.
“The refereeing was also top notch. Obviously, there’ll always be a couple of decisions that you won’t agree with but I thought Declan Peppard had a brilliant semi-final and final
“I was also impressed with Laragh and the way they fought back on each occasion and Hollywood’s semi-final against Ballymanus was something to behold.
“I’ve been really impressed by all three teams that have won it out and hence they’re in the position that they’re in. They’ll go further in the Leinster championship.”
His multiple attendances gave him ringside seats to cast an eye over the men that he will eventually call upon to pull on that Blue and Gold jersey and he was extremely satisfied with the splendour on offer.
“Hugely impressed. There is a lot of very good players there and hence we’re going through the hole lot of them and they’ll be a lot of new players that will get a lookin. There’ll be a lot of very exciting young players and there’s some middle of the ranged aged players that hadn’t got a look in previously but are being looked at now. I think with the three lads (selectors), there’s no stone uncovered. The one thing you’d always say is that there’s always guys out there that will be unable to commit no matter how much you’d like to have them in the panel due to family or work situations. You’re never going to have the perfect team but what we have in is quite good.
“That’s the way we’ve gone about our business. The four of us put our heads together – the door is open for everybody whether they’re a Junior A player or a senior club player. Everybody will get a shot; everybody.”
Fortress Aughrim has become something of a cliché in recent years. Gone are the days when sides would travel to Joule Park riddled with apprehension. The arduous journey remains but now those trips are often accompanied by a comfortable victory. That’s something Evans wants to change in time
“Wicklow only won one game last year and that was against London. I think the big thing here that I’m concentrating on is building a team that we can rely on. We need to build a stronger team than what we’ve had and we need to put structures in place. If we can put the building blocks in place with the right players and the right commitment, we can then start looking at things like promotion but we need baby steps first.
“Again, I see what you’re saying but we need to build a team that can create a fortress in Aughrim. We need to get a few warriors that can get experience into these young players that we bring in and instil some pride in them. I’ve no doubt that they’ll bring the passion themselves to it and we need to try to make Aughrim our fortress and our place where we can hold our own against any team in the country.”
There has been a habit in Co. Wicklow recently to freshen up the captaincy every term but his on-field commander hasn’t been contemplated yet.
“I have personally spoken to every player. I don’t know what has gone before but I’ll sit down with the selectors and we’ll discuss that. It hasn’t come up yet. When I haven’t got the players in yet I can’t see who the leaders are.”
Pre-season should get underway in November. Evans is expecting 60-70 hopefuls which will be trimmed down to a 30-man panel but should a non-county player discover the form of his life during the season, Evans won’t hesitate to bring him on board.
“I’d go down the road and put him into the car myself! I’d have no issue with that at all, absolutely none. That’s something with the U-20’s as well, that won’t be starting until June and we’ll be hoping to run a development panel as well as a senior panel. That’ll be something whereby if a guy is playing very well for his club whether that’s at junior, intermediate or senior – if he’s playing well for his club we will bring him in. If the talent is there, we want to harness it and get the best out of him.”
His focus will be split between the senior squad and the U-20’s also. There is an Evans blueprint but it is subject to change. What also may change is Evans’ stance on reputations – if you’re not in form, you’re not in the team whether you have 100 caps or one.
“I have certain structures and building blocks which I would do with every team and after that then you have to adapt depending on