Offaly players to decide manager’s fate

Wexford workrate is key to success, insists McDonald

OFFALY GAA chiefs have told their footballers that they will have the final say on whether under-pressure boss Stephen Wallace will remain in charge for their All-Ireland campaign. It is understood that four players have quit the panel in the aftermath of last Sunday’s shock extra-time Leinster Championship defeat to Wicklow, but that number could rise when the players hold a crisis meeting, which is expected to take place tonight. But Wallace could yet tender his resignation after it emerged that the board, in a back channel move, advised the players that they will act to remove the Kerry native from his position if a vote of no confidence is carried. If that occurs, it is likely that a caretaker manager will be put in place ahead of the county’s opening round qualifier game on June 9. However, as of last night, there was no formal push for that vote but the true level of discontent, which is believed to extend beyond the four players who have left the panel, will only become evident after this evening’s meeting. It has proved a difficult season for rookie boss Wallace, who narrowly avoided seeing his team relegated after winning just two League games this spring. He was also hit with an eightweek ban by the Kerry County Board which meant that he watched last weekend’s defeat from the stand in O’Moore Park.

IT wasn’t so long ago that having an intercounty career only seemed suitable for teachers and students because of the commitment levels involved. However, a recent trend has shown that gym owners and fitness instructors are equally well equipped to marry a working week with a Gaelic games lifestyle.

Reigning Footballer of the Year Andy Moran has happily admitted that the rich vein of form he has displayed in the autumn of his career is down to changing jobs and opening his own gym in Castlebar. TJ Reid and Colm Callanan have also gone down that path. So, too, Conor McDonald who recently opened the 14 Fitness gym in his native Gorey.

Ironically, the talented forward looked set to go down the more usual inter-county road of teaching after he left UCD with a Geography and Irish degree three years ago.

‘I was always told that it would be handy for me, to go and do the teaching,’ McDonald explained at the Bord Gaís Energy launch of the Hurling Championship. ‘I had the thought in my head for a long time to try and help people out using my experience and background so I had a look at myself and realised what I actually enjoyed doing on the field can transfer into my work-place.’

Last summer, as the Wexford bandwagon cranked into gear under Davy Fitzgerald, McDonald also did a fitness course under Callanan, the Galway goalkeeper, before taking a placement in a gym in Nottingham over the winter. ‘I took my eye off the hurling for a little while,’ he recalled.

McDonald may find most of those who use his gym this week will want to talk about Sunday’s clash with revitalised Dublin. Wexford were the odd team out in Leinster last week, sitting on the sidelines and watching the thrills and spills of the opening weekend in the revamped Championship.

Even if Pat Gilroy’s team were ultimately unlucky not to beat Kilkenny, they showed enough to suggest they have the tools to take the air out of the Davy revolution in Wexford Park this weekend.

‘I knew that Dublin would be stronger. They have experienced guys back and experience is going to be key, especially in this format with four games so close together. It will be important to have your most experienced players. I am sure there will be a ferocious intensity to this game, as there will be to every game. They will be coming down to Wexford Park expecting to get a win.’

In past years nobody was sure what to expect of Wexford before their first game of the Championship. They had a tendency to go from one extreme to the other. In the summer before Fitzgerald took over, they claimed their first Championship win over Cork in 60 years before falling flat in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Waterford.

‘We have been trying to base our performances on consistency,’ said McDonald. ‘We have just tried to string a couple of really good performances together and hopefully the results will look after themselves. That’s the main thing we have worked on since Davy came in, working on consistency and working hard for the lad beside you.’

McDonald has been flitting between the half-forward and fullforward line under Fitzgerald, but despite the name of his gym indicating that he prefers to be at the edge of the square, he says he doesn’t mind where he is asked to play.

‘As long as I am on the field, I’m happy enough. Anywhere in the forwards. When you’re close to goal, you have more opportunities to bag one or two but sometimes the ball can be limited depending on the team you are playing. As long as you are getting on the ball and doing your bit for the team, that’s all that matters.’

And given the structure and system that Fitzgerald has implemented with Wexford, McDonald accepts there will be some days when he will have to feed off scraps.

‘With the system we play, you really have to buy into it. And at times that will mean I am just working hard for the team and might not necessarily be scoring 0-4 or 1-3 in every game. But as long as we are winning, that is all that matters.’

And McDonald feels the players are much more comfortable with the system with their campaign about to start.

‘I hope so, heading into the Championship that we are fairly familiar with our core values as a team. If we were not working hard previously, we were losing games. And I think no matter where you are playing on the field or what system you are playing, if we are keeping our tackle count up and working hard as a team, we should be consistent. The core value of our team is workrate. You could have a bad day and shoot 15 or 16 wides but if you are working hard, you know you will get more opportunities.’

During the Allianz League, McDonald handed over free-taking duties to young attacking star Rory O’Connor. And he insists that he was happy to do so.

‘As long as they are going over the bar, I don’t mind who hits them. Last year was up and down for me in regard to free-taking so if I am inside looking at them going over my head, I am happy enough as long as the frees are going between the posts,’ McDonald explained, underlining the collective attitude that Fitzgerald has engendered in Wexford and which might yet propel them to even greater success this summer.