Time will wait for no manager as new bosses aim to make instant impression
WHEN the close season managerial merry-go-round finally came to a stop, 10 football counties were left staring at 2016 with new leaders at the helm.
All start out with the comfort of being insulated with the security blanket that comes with the perception of time being on their side, while those who hit rough waters can seek to be bailed out by the rationale that they are leading teams in ‘transition.’
That is the theory at least, but as they found out in Mayo and Down last year, time brings no guarantee of security, nor does relative success.
Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes could not save themselves despite taking Mayo to the All-Ireland final, while Jim McCorry walked away after feeling little love from his county board despite taking Down back to the game’s top flight.
The lesson there is that time is never your friend in this job.
Perhaps, then, it is better to embrace the opportunity, rather than feel the pressure.
Of the 10 new managers, only Mayo’s Stephen Rochford and Cork’s Peadar Healy have a realistic shot at this summer’s main prize. Recent history shows the best time for managers of the top teams to strike is in their first year.
Six of the last 14 All-Ireland Championships have been won by a manager in his first season — Joe Kernan (Armagh, 2002), Mickey Harte (Tyrone, 2003), Jack O’Connor (Kerry, 2004 and 09), Pat O’Shea (Kerry, 2007) and Jim Gavin (Dublin, 2013).
That serves as a reminder to all that no impression makes such a lasting impact like a first one.
Sportsmail looks at the challenges facing this year’s new leaders.
STEPHEN ROCHFORD
(MAYO)
What he needs to change: One of the great contradictions of this Mayo team is that for a group that possess so many stand-out defenders, defence has ultimately been their undoing. They made their exit in the last two Championships in replays after conceding three goals each time, and Rochford will seek to bring the organisation that made Corofin easy on the eye but incredibly hard to break down.
What he must find: A cool-headed leader. In a team populated by the likes of Keith Higgins, Lee Keegan, Aidan O’Shea and Cillian O’Connor that might seem a strange observation, but they have suffered more than once in recent times through flawed decision-making on and off the pitch. The perception is that they can only operate in high gears — check out the semi-final replay defeat to Dublin — and can’t take the heat out of contests like an experienced team should.
Rochford could do with the Alan Dillon or Andy Moran of five years ago, but that’s not a runner so his best bet is to mould someone new in that role, with O’Connor best placed.
The bottom line: Simple. Nothing else will do other than winning the All-Ireland.
Prediction: They are the bestplaced to challenge Dublin, they have the players, the drive and, now, the manager to do just that.
KEVIN McSTAY & FERGAL O’DONNELL
(ROSCOMMON)
What they need to change: Not so much wine into water as bringing spring form into summer. For all their youthful promise and momentum over the past couple of seasons, they have bombed in the Championship. In effect, they have lost their last three Championship games to Division 3 opposition — Sligo and Fermanagh last year and Armagh, who were relegated to that tier when they played in 2014. It’s all well and good being a Division
1 team, but the key is to play like one when it matters.
What they need to find: In Cathal Shine, Roscommon possess one of the best midfielders in the game, but we may not see the best of him until he has a holding midfield partner
beside him.
The bottom line: Need to maintain Division 1 status and ideally, given their generous draw, win the Connacht title.
Prediction: Will hit their spring target once more, and might just deliver that Connacht title.
EAMONN BURNS
(DOWN)
What he needs to change: For all the hype surrounding the anticipated return of Benny Coulter, what Burns really needs is to beef up a team that could pass as a minor one. They are simply too light, with the exception of Kevin McKernan. Getting Dan Gordon back would be a good start.
What he must find: The truth is, he may already have found it, provided
Marty Clarke is fit enough to return to the fold. The team is in dire need of an attacking leader, who has both presence and the skill-set to lead the way.
The bottom line: Survival in Division 1 and, with Monaghan and Donegal on their side of the draw in Ulster, a decent run in the qualifiers would be a start.
Prediction. Hard to see either of the above happening.
DAMIAN BARTON
(DERRY)
What he needs to change: Brian McIver was so traumatised by how 2014 concluded — most likely because of the savaging his team endured in that year’s League final that he went ultra defensive. It didn’t
work, they were one of the game’s lowest scoring teams and their summer average of 12 points per game meant that they were never going to travel far.
What he needs to find: The retirement of Fergal Doherty has left Barton (left) with a void that will take a lot of filling, and it might take more than a year to do so.
The bottom line: After two years in Division 1, the League is no big deal, but winning a first Ulster since 1998 is.
Prediction: The moment may have passed for this group.
PEADAR HEALY
(CORK)
What he needs to change: Mindsets. The suspicion remains that in the Cork football psyche they are a ‘stop Kerry association’ first and All-Ireland contenders second.
Their implosion to Kildare after this year’s Munster final replay defeat, even allowing for a sevenday turnaround, only added substance to that.
What he needs to find: One heroic second-half display by Alan O’Connor last summer does not mean Cork have sorted out their chronic midfield issues. Getting Ian Maguire and Ruairi Deane fit and well might just, though.
The bottom line: As ever, beat
Kerry.
Prediction: They can do that much at least and they remain the best equipped side to come close to the game’s big three.
LIAM KEARNS
(TIPPERARY)
What he needs to change: For all the strides they have made as a football entity, every time the hurlers come calling, heads still get turned far too easily.
Changing that mind-set, though, is likely to be beyond any one man.
What he needs to find: Glaringly obvious, not only have Tipperary lost both of their midfielders, they also lost their two best players in Australia-based Colin O’Riordan and hurling-domiciled Steven O’Brien. Filling those holes will be quite the challenge
The bottom line: Find a way to get out of Division 3 and take out Cork in the Munster Championship.
Prediction: The above was beyond them in their recent pomp, so little chance now.
DENIS CONNERTON
(LONGFORD)
What he needs to change: Attitudes. Connerton has revealed that 40 per cent of the players he invited to trial for his panel, turned him down. That says less about him and more about the lack of appeal of committing to a cause where glory comes sparingly.
What he needs to find: There is nothing he can do about this, but Longford are one of those counties who would benefit from a second-tier Championship. But there appears to be little appetite for same.
The bottom line: Stay in Division 3 and manage to have one good day in Leinster.
Prediction: Unlikely to happen on
both counts
CIAN O’NEILL
(KILDARE)
What he needs to change: Getting the Lilywhites to defend properly.
Jason Ryan sought to introduce a
defensive system last spring, but when it mattered most it evaporated as they conceded 11 goals in two games against Dublin and Kerry.
What he needs to find: He may already have done so, as his options have swelled since his arrival.
The most exciting surely is Daniel Flynn, who is blessed with versatility and the engine to fuel it, and if he finds the form that made him one of the game’s most exciting prospects a couple of seasons back, anything is possible.
The bottom line: Promotion out of Division 2 and keep it respectable against Dublin in the Leinster final if they can manage to get that far in summer.
Prediction: Will definitely deliver on the form, and if being competitive against Dublin qualifies as a low two-digit defeat, he might just manage it.
MICK LILLIS
(LAOIS)
What he needs to change: He will need to enlist a whole hospital of head doctors to address the mental fragility which has made them incapable of delivering when it matters most.
They retained their Division 2 status, but how could they be expected to beat Kildare when they could not deliver on a seven-point lead against Antrim.
What he needs to find: He could do with Ross Munnelly rediscovering the rich vein of form he found in 2014, to complement the excellent Donie Kingston.
The bottom line: Stay in Division 2 and get a decent run of games in the qualifiers.
Prediction: Relegation from the second tier and a long idle summer to reflect on it.
CIARÁN DEELY
(LONDON)
What he needs to change: He could do with getting rid of the Irish Sea. The possibilities in this job will always be compromised by the transient nature of the GAA in exile.
What he needs to find: A competition format that suits, and one in which they could potentially make an impression. A second-tier Championship is something they would have no hang-ups about competing in it.
The bottom line: Win a game in Division 4 and keep it respectable when they come up against beaten All-Ireland finalists Mayo at the end of May.
Prediction: Look primed to fall to the very bottom again.