Cavan boss: We need to be realistic
NEW Cavan manager Mickey Graham has pleaded for patience as he takes the reigns of one of Gaelic football’s fallen powers.
Graham was a player on the last Cavan team to win the Anglo Celt Cup in 1997, which is the only time the most successful county in the Ulster Championship has lifted the provincial title in the past 49 years.
But even though the county’s sense of itself is rooted in tradition — five All-Ireland wins and 37 provincial titles makes then the most celebrated in Ulster — rather than form, ambitions must be tempered accordingly, warned Graham.
‘Maybe the expectation is too high at times and we need to be realistic,’ admitted Graham yesterday.
‘There is a big tradition there, Cavan have always had that. You would nearly say that we are like Kerry in that sense but we just have to manage that expectation.
‘We are going to need time, people are going to have to be patient,’ added the Cavan Gaels clubman.
The Cavan County Board has given him that time; handing Graham a four-year term — with a review built in after two years — to provide the county with the stability and upwardly mobile momentum it craves.
The rookie manager has earned this shot after a long apprenticeship — he served as county minor manager from 2008 to ’11 before taking charge of developmental squads — and proving himself in the club game. He won back-toback Longford championships with Mullinalaghta St Columba’s
He will complete his backroom team inside the next week, but has already signed up former county star Dermot McCabe as his assistant and Martin Corry — brother of Monaghan veteran Vinny — as team trainer.
It is a step into the unknown for a management team light in experience, but one blessed with a clarity of purpose.
This represents a new beginning and most likely a second chance for big-name players in Cavan, who drifted to the margins under Mattie McGleenan’s two-year watch
Players such as Gerry Smith, Michael Argue, Feargal Flanagan, Jack Brady, Joe Dillon and veteran Eugene Keating may well get a call-up to come back into the fold, although the future of London-based David Givney is less clear.
But rather than big names, Graham (below) insists that he will be looking for big hearts.
‘We want players who want to play for Cavan,’ insists the new boss.
‘It is a big commitment for any player because you are giving up a big part of your life.
‘It is very time consuming and to be an inter-county footballer now you need to be 100 per cent committed and if you have any doubt in your mind that you are not sure you can commit to it you will be found out further down the line.
‘You want people who want to play for Cavan, are committed to Cavan.
‘They are the lads you want and some of the best players out there might not be able to make that commitment and if they are not then they are probably better off staying away from it because unless your heart is in this and it is something you really want to do, it is a waste of time coming in and giving it 60 or 70 per cent.’ Getting those players to recommit may be easier if Graham delivers on the expectation of playing to a more attacking gameplan, which was something his predecessor failed to implement. However, the one thing which McGleenan did deliver on was returning the team to the Allianz League’s top flight where he found them two years previously. That, though, may be a hindrance as much as a help, ensuring the new boss will jump in at the deep end next spring. However, he is hoping that by turning Breffni Park into a fortress, that learning curve may not be as traumatic as might be expected outside the county. ‘We will be approaching it as an opportunity to give new players game-time. I know people will say that it is a tough place to baptise new players but if you are going to learn then it is best that you learn from the best. ‘We will go into Division 1 looking to be competitive, and that every time we take the field we are putting in big performances. ‘And when you are putting in big performances and are being competitive, results will go your way. ‘We want to make sure that any team that comes to Breffni Park knows that they are in for a tough 70 minutes. ‘We want to make Breffni Park a place that teams will not enjoy coming to,’ he added.
‘You are giving up a big part of your life’