Cribbin’s jolt can provide big shock
Pressure on Westmeath leaders as Royals loom
THOSE who contend that a kind word is never wasted while every harsh one is a bullet to the heart would do well to check Westmeath’s pulse right now.
Twelve weeks have passed since Tom Cribbin broke with the law of the dressing room and decided to barbecue his players in public in the aftermath of a final round League defeat to Roscommon, which had condemned the Lakesiders to back-to -back relegations.
In sport, and particularly in the GAA, one of the golden rules of management is that any criticism of players should be kept within the room, while all the nice harmless stuff about how ‘they are great to work with’ should be used as fodder to feed the microphones.
But on that April Sunday evening in Mullingar, Cribbin reached into his holster, produced the sixshooter and let rip.
‘There’s a few big players just not performing for us, I don’t know why or what’s wrong.
‘The few big lads who should be standing out and leading f*****g lay down and that’s the trouble with this team. It’s lads who should be leading, chest out and showing these young lads where to go; they’re the ones that are killing this team.
‘We might have to go on without a clatter of these players and just start working on these young lads for the future,’ blasted Cribbin.
Almost three months on, those words have lost none of their edge and in the days that followed that outburst the fear was that Cribbin would lose his dressing room and his position.
After all, Westmeath have some form in that regards. The last manager who took them down into Division 3 never uttered a cross word in public, but Brendan Hackett was still hunted by the players before the ball was thrown i n at the start of the 2010 Championship.
Perhaps the reason why Cribbin was spared such a fate was that while his language was infected with emotion, the criticism was so pointed it had the feel of a message that had been scripted for some time and needed venting. While no names were mentioned, no commission of enquiry was needed to reveal the identity of those who had attracted Cribbin’s ire.
John Heslin, Paul Sharry (right) and Denis Glennon had all endured underwhelming League campaigns and Cribbin perhaps felt the time was right to light a fire under them as he had exposed himself to enough heat.
After the round four League defeat to Meath, Cribbin insisted on taking the blame for a four-goal trimming — the crucial first goal conceded that day was down to a misplaced pass by Sharry — but having seen no evidence of payback from his players for sacrificing his own reputation, he may have decided on a new way.
Has it worked? Well, they have won two Championship matches, have reached a Leinster semi-final for the first time in five years and have a real shot at making it to the final.
But all of that comes with a cautionary note; the two teams they have beaten, Louth and Wexford, will be operating out of the game’s basement tier next spring, while their chances of reaching the final has more to do with Meath’s perceived impoverished state rather than their own good one.
That aside, there has been evidence that the public blood-letting has done some good. Heslin, their most talented player and chief score-taker, produced a man-of-the-match performance against Louth, although he was less prominent against Wexford.
Sharry and Glennon have both had injury problems, but t he former was fit to start against Wexford where he finished strongly, while the latter came off the bench to kick two points.
But there has also been evidence of a more considered game-plan — Kieran Martin has excelled in a deeper role and may even play as a sweeper on Sunday, while new boys like Cillian Daly and Shane Dempsey are making waves.
Above all, though, there is no evidence that Cribbin’s rant has fractured them, with the suggestion, if anything, to the contrary in that they are a tighter and happier group now. That has not happened by accident. A weekend camp in Mayo after the League did little harm while the addition of Adrian Harrison, who worked previously with Cavan, as effectively the team’s psychologist in the interim has added to the feel-good vibe.
It all seems a long way from 12 weeks ago, but what little evidence exists for positive results when managers cut up ugly on their play- ers should provide Westmeath with some comfort.
Back in 1998, Michael ‘Babs’ Keating labelled his Offaly players ‘sheep in a heap’ after they lost the Leinster final to Kilkenny.
While Keating would pay by having to resign after his players took umbrage to that withering assessment, i t hardly hurt t hem. Wounded by the insult, they lifted t hemselves under new boss Michael Bond to become the most unlikely of All-Ireland champions.
That is hardly Westmeath’s goal, but should they record a first-ever Championship win over Meath on Sunday it will f eel every bit as good.
The odds remain stacked against them; of the team that started in the semi-final win over Wexford not one of them has ever won a game of ball in Croke Park.
To break that barrier on Sunday, they will need big-chested leaders with a stomach for the battle.
Those who had their ears singed last April will hardly need to stoke the fire for this one.