WE’RE IN CLOUD CUCKOO LAND..
Maughan struggling to get his head around the vast number of roles that need to be filled at inter-county level these days
NEW Offaly boss John Maughan says inter-county management has gone “cuckoo” since his last involvement at this level.
Maughan made a surprise return to the fold more than 10 years after stepping down as Roscommon manager, having twice previously taken charge of his native Mayo as well as with Clare and Fermanagh.
His Offaly management team includes Kevin Guing, Gerry O’malley (selectors), Dermot Sheridan (S&C) and Mark Fee (coach) but he admits he’s been taken aback by various other roles that need to be filled.
“Down in Clare I was driving the bus!” he laughed.
“It’s changed. I thought
Ihad a fair idea but I’ve discovered a lot. It’s been interesting, to say the least.
“It’s gone cuckoo but apparently you have to have it and these niche jobs have been created and it is what it is.
“Now, that said, that aspect of science and the approach to it when it comes to analysis has gone off to a different level.
“Looking at opposition and that kind of stuff takes an inordinate amount of time, that’s why these guys fill those roles and behind it all there’s no guarantee of ever winning a game but it has to be done and players demand that and recognise what’s happening in other counties.”
Back in 1992, Maughan helped Clare shock the football world when they beat Kerry to claim their only Munster title since 1917 but he fears the days of minnows upsetting the apple cart are over.
“Those fairytale results, you rarely see them these days.
“You might see an odd exception. But you’re not going to see someone jumping out of the pod and winning a provincial championship.
“The days of the Clares and the Leitrims winning provincial titles are gone.”
He continued: team sport, it’s that keeps the spectators interested. So many games I go to now, that’s gone.
“You go in and watch the Dubs playing in the Leinster championship and you might say, ‘Why bother going to this?’
“And numbers have declined because of that, because everybody knows who is going to win. When you lose that in sport, you’ve lost a lot.”
Maughan says he won’t be putting a defensive template in place in order to make Offaly more competitive, however.
“I wouldn’t be the type of guy to park the bus. Never have. Playing inter-county football or any sport is a choice and you want to enjoy it.
“I’d be more orthodox style. I might regret that approach but that would be my philosophy.”