Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PADDY IS THE DADDY SAYS DOWN ACE O’HARE
DOWN attacker Donal O’hare has hailed the impact of Paddy Tally in the Mourne county and says his ‘perfectionist’ nature is rubbing off. Tally took charge of Down ahead of last season following stints coaching Tyrone and Galway.
And O’hare thinks there may be some positive times ahead for Down under his leadership.
“Paddy is brilliant to work with, he comes with a wealth of knowledge, he is very hands on in training and is a bit of a perfectionist,” he told The Backdoor Football podcast. “He likes things done right and done perfect. But that’s no fault, that’s just probably his high standards. That’s probably something he has changed in our squad. In the last couple of years it’s about hitting high standards.
“He’s been brilliant to work with so far. Obviously, me and him have a good enough relationship and he made me vice-captain at the start of the year.
“And the whole backroom team, he’s brought people round him that are very, very good with a wide range of experience and abilities.”
Burren club man O’hare spent the 2019 season commuting every weekend from his base in Liverpool, where he was training to become a teacher.
He admits it was the chance to play with Tally that convinced him the weekly journey was worthwhile.
O’hare added: “When Paddy Tally came into the set-up it was a fresh approach and new ideas.
“I taught all week until Friday, left the school around half one, got the flight at half four and went training that night.
“When you say to somebody, ‘I’m flying back every week to represent the county’ they probably think you’re nuts. It was a massive commitment for me but I felt it worked very well.”