MARC Ó SÉ Wounded Stephen Rochford is taking a leaf out of Páidí’s playbook

HURT can manifest itself in any number of ways, never more powerfully than in silence. Páidí Ó Sé was never one for that; gregarious, full of fun and devilment, but when Kerry moved against him in 2003, the pain of it was more than he could ever put into words.

There was no subject that he would not touch in conversation but, in all the years and in all the time I spent with him, that was a road he never wanted to go down.

Perhaps it was because he had three nephews playing for the county or, more likely, because he loved Kerry football so much that he could not bring himself to speak ill of it, so he chose to say nothing at all.

He literally adopted a vow of silence as a policy when it came to his relationship with the then county chairman Seán Walsh but, thankfully, that relationship was repaired to the point that Seán would deliver the parting words when Páidí took his leave of us.

He did open his mouth to say ‘yes’ to Westmeath having vowed publicly that he would never manage anyone other than Kerry. And I have no doubt that he did so because hurt is also the most powerful motivathe tional tool a wounded man can lay his hands on.

I suspect that when he finally speaks about the reason he has joined Declan Bonner’s management team, Stephen Rochford will cite his desire to stay involved with the development and coaching of elite players as the guiding factor in that decision.

I wouldn’t doubt that ambition, but it takes a lot of desire – after three exhausting seasons managing Mayo – to face into a five-hour round trip a few times a week to commit to a secondary role with a football team.

A little hurt will shorten that journey and Rochford wouldn’t be human if he felt like sticking it to a county board who had treated him in such a shoddy manner.

He may also have been less than impressed with how his players stayed quiet while it was clear the county board had undermined him to the point where his position had become untenable.

Whatever the reason, Donegal can profit from this just as Westmeath profited from Páidí’s sense of injustice in 2004. Whatever Rochford’s reasons, his presence in Donegal can only be a positive.

While the details of his role are unknown, it is hard to believe he will have agreed to come on board for anything other than a senior position.

He will be Bonner’s number two – whatever his title is – and such are demands now placed on managers, that has become a pivotal role.

For instance, Darragh had a conversation with a top Dublin player recently who revealed that Jim Gavin had spoken to him just four times this season.

That tells you two things; the player in question was obviously doing his job very well and little intervention was needed. The other is that the manager has a huge workload which needs to be shared and therefore, he can only be as good as the team assembled around him.

In Rochford, Declan Bonner has landed a premier signing.

He is bringing in someone with the kind of experience that is hard found – a manager who has been on the line for three All-Ireland finals (including one replay) and while he might not have been a champion, he will have learned plenty in defeat.

He is also a man who has worked closely with the best coaches, so he is also bringing what he has learned from the likes of Donie Buckley and Tony McEntee to the party.

And he is also bringing his own instinct. I don’t know him personally, but the one thing which impressed me was that he was a man of conviction, who had the resolve to not just think outside the box, but to act on his instincts as well.

The decision to drop David Clarke (left) for the 2016 replay may have backfired, but he did so with a view to gaining the extra inch he needed on restarts.

And he had the courage to not only pick Aidan O’Shea at full-back against Kieran Donaghy, but even when it did not work as well as he had hoped, he the faith to keep him there for last year’s semi-final replay.

That’s takes courage. Someone who is willing to challenge himself, will always challenge players and that will add so much to the team meetings in Donegal next season.

The biggest thing of all, though, is that Rochford sees enough in Donegal to come on board. That is some vote of confidence in Bonner’s team and it is also well deserved.

In fact, there is a lot more potential in the group that he is joining than the one from which he was effectively forced out. Donegal are in the third year of a rebuild – the process began in Rory Gallagher’s final season – which means the process of marrying new talent to the proven is close to completion. You look at Mayo and that process has not even begun. That was Rochford’s big failing, but it may just be he did not have the talent which is now at his disposal. The likes of Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Jamie Brennan and Michael Langan have knitted perfectly with Michael Murphy, Ryan McHugh, Odhrán MacNiallais and Paddy McBrearty. Indeed, had the latter not sustained that cruciate injury – and he could be back before the end of next year’s Allianz League – Donegal could have made this year’s All-Ireland final which would have represented a huge stride. They will have him next year and they will not only have a top class management team, they will possess a driven one too. Mayo’s loss will be Donegal’s gain.

He may have been less than impressed with how players stayed silent