OPEN AND SHUT CASE FOR McSTAY
AMONGST other things, Kevin McStay has been illuminating since putting down his co-commentator microphone and taking up the position as Roscommon team boss. It took guts to do that, to start walking after years of doing so much talking to the whole nation. But McStay has refused in his two-and-a-half years in the job to do things quietly – and act like one big mouse, like most managers. He has been honest. He has been revealing, starting out this year by bravely explaining that he would be hard pressed to ‘shave’ very much at all off his team’s weekly €15,000 per week training cost. ‘We agree a fee — it is never slaughterhouse money — and then they find after they have done the job that they don’t get paid at the end of the week,’ he explained, citing the role of the professional helpers in his camp. Off the field and on it, McStay has been a mini reality TV show all of his own. And we should be grateful. He has allowed everyone in the GAA to understand more and come to a fuller realisation of what the game is all about in this day and age. He was also strong in letting it be known that he wanted this afternoon’s Connacht final played in Hyde Park, or else – he got his knuckles wrapped for that ultimatum. We know more about the Roscommon football team than possibly any other team in the country, and that has been rewarding. We also know that they may be out of their depth by the very end of this decider against Galway. But Roscommon will go down fighting, even if they don’t have Galway’s physical strength on the field, and more formidable choice on the subs bench. McStay has made it harder for himself and his team with his openness. We wish him well. He’s deserving of better wishes than any other team manager out there.