Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
Passion for football still burns bright in Brogan
BERNARD BROGAN promises he’s far from finished - and vowed to “fight tooth and nail” to win back his starting place for Dublin.
Dropped for the All-ireland final last September, veteran Brogan worked with ex-blues colleague Bryan Cullen (below), the panel’s strength and conditioning coach, to lose weight and add pace for 2017. Then he found himself on the bench for the Leinster opener against Carlow. “I went out there to start, that was my goal,” said the 33-year-old. “And I was disappointed – there’s no point in saying I wasn’t. “But I’m long enough around to understand what’s needed and that me throwing my toys out of the pram isn’t going to help. “I’m feeling competitive and that I’m in the mix. I’ll be fighting for a jersey. I’m not happy just to be part of the system, to roll on for 15 minutes. “I’m there to be competitive, to play. That’s the way you have to be. I’ll be driving on for the next day.” After reviewing his performance last year with Dublin’s management – and Jason Sherlock in particular – Brogan realised he needed more power and pace in his legs to play a new role He said: “I’ve given myself a new challenge this year but the competition in the fullforward line is frightening. There’s seven or eight lads there that could probably play on most intercounty teams and that’s a great thing to have. “It’s just about getting the mindset right. There’ll be times you have to take a different role. And that’ll be my biggest challenge – starting for so long for so many years. “If it’s a different role I have to make sure I have the head space right for it, that I come in with the right attitude.” Brogan admits that prior to working with Pat Gilroy he would have taken being dropped badly, but says the ex-dublin manager worked on eroding a selfish streak in the former Player of the Year’s psyche. His mental strength came to the fore last September when current Dubs boss Jim Gavin took himself and Michael Darragh Macauley aside just before naming his All-ireland final team selection. “When Jim said it to me he wanted to do something different, obviously I was massively disappointed. An Allireland final – God,” added Brogan. “But I grabbed Michael Darragh – who was equally upset – and said, ‘It’s going to be named, let’s step up high, look them all in the eye and show no signs of throwing the toys out of the pram’. “We just said show no sign of weakness and try and add as much positivity to the group. “Did it do anything for the team? Maybe not. But for me, it gave me energy. “We were around in a circle when it was named. Lads look up, looking for a reaction – just smile back at them and say, ‘We’re ready for this.’ “I think the team respected that. It’ll be the same again. Whatever the role has to be, it’s still an honour to put on a Dublin jersey.”