TIME TO PAY UP
Kilkenny hero Fennelly calls for cash boost
EIGHT-TIME All-Ireland winner Michael Fennelly has called for senior intercounty managers to be paid — and he believes players should receive a substantial Government grant increase to ensure they stay amateur.
With Tuesday’s ESRI report showing how elite footballers and hurlers put in up to 31 hours per week in terms of inter-county commitment, Fennelly highlighted how managers put in so much more and argued that they are the ones who need to be salaried.
Speaking at the launch of Electric Ireland’s Minor Hurling Team of the Year, the former Kilkenny hurler explained the need for such a radical move.
‘The manager role is probably double. It could be 50-odd hours and there’s a lot of stress to it. A lot of pressure and properly managing 30 players, you need to be qualified in that area too, I think, at this stage. It’s daunting for managers, from what I’ve seen. If it was a paid role I think you’d
have more time. There’d be less stress. ‘You could plan things better, and manage your workload, without a doubt. ‘[Former Tipperary manager] Michael Ryan was with the Bank of Ireland and I know he’s very, very busy as well. Liam Sheedy had to leave because of work commitments. So it’s happening the whole time. Something has to happen on it. ‘Inter-county [management] is a serious, serious role. How many hours go into it? I’d like to see a report on that. Because it’s a lot more than 31 hours. Lot more pressure, a lot more stress. You’re looking after 30-odd players, and your management, supporters coming down on you as well. ‘It’s a huge role. For me, I think it’s a full-time role. It should be a job in itself where you step away from work or have a parttime job. Because again, that’s
the way it’s going.’ Fennelly’s comments echo those of former Waterford star John Mullane, who suggested the same last year in light of his brother-in-law Derek McGrath (below) taking leave from his teaching job with De La Salle College to effectively manage the Waterford hurlers full-time. ‘Definitely, it has to be heading that way, because there’s not enough managers out there. It’s very difficult for county boards to find managers, to find the right one. You want a manager there for three, four, five years. You don’t want a person there for one year. ‘From what I’ve seen, it’s just managers there for one or two years, and then they’re moving on. Family commitments, or work commitments that are catching up.’ And he said payments to managers wouldn’t necessarily push the players down the road to some form of official professionalism, once the government funded grant scheme was expanded. Under the last agreement players were set to receive a minimum of €970 in 2018 up to a maximum of €2,227. ‘Semi-professional? I think the grant system would be great, if that was increased and I think players would be happy. I remember we used to get €500. ‘Now it’s made up to maybe around €1,000 or €2,000. I think if players got a couple of thousand there, I think they’d be happy. ‘What I would do, I would tie in social work with that. Social kind of responsibility in your area, that you’re doing stuff in schools, that you’re doing stuff in your locality and it’s part and parcel of you getting a grant.’