Darcy labels Harte as ‘the godfather’ of management
“We can’t get caught up in the emotion”
THERE was no mention made of four-ina-row at Dublin’s recent All-Ireland final press conference. Just as there had been none all summer.
Jim Gavin’s side may cement their place in the record books this Sunday as only the fourth side in GAA history to achieve that feat, but their camp give the impression that this is just another game in Croke Park.
Declan Darcy, who has been a constant by Jim Gavin’s side during Dublin’s current dominance, maintains that it is deliberate that nobody inside the camp has spoken of the slice of history that they are chasing.
The selector, who also called Mickey Harte ‘the Godfather of football management’ during an interesting chat in Parnell Park, insists neither players or management are motivated by the idea of sitting alongside Kerry’s Golden Years team in the history books.
‘I think it’s very deliberate because if you look behind enough, you will get caught. I’m sure the fellas have reflected individually on what they’ve achieved but the language is never about that,’ Darcy explained. ‘The group love being in each other’s company and the camaraderie is under-estimated.
‘We enjoy what we do and we are lucky that we have the players that we have. There’s a great energy to go out and perform in each and every game. They want to play another game and another and another. It has never been mentioned and it’s not a motivating factor. If it happens, fantastic, but it’s not a motivator for us.’
Darcy, a hero for his father’s native Leitrim when they claimed an emotional Connacht title in 1994, admits he is excited by the opportunity to pit his wits against the tactical nous of Harte on All Ireland final day and feels that the Tyrone boss belongs in elite company having helped to change the complexion of the game.
‘Us as a management group, we might do our thing but Mickey Harte is the Godfather, himself and Mick O’Dwyer, so any team he’s in charge of, there will be huge respect there,’ he explained.
‘They are the people we would have looked up to as coaches. He is in that higher echelon. It’s great to pit your mind against someone of his ability. We have huge respect for Tyrone football. They’ve huge passion for the game and you can see that in the way they play. We got a sense of that in Omagh. They’re a very passionate county about football.’
And even though Gaelic football has had to withstand plenty of criticism this year for the way that the sport is evolving, Darcy says it is fascinating to try and solve the puzzle posed by different opponents.
‘We’re in a place where we need to be very clinical with how we look at the game and don’t get caught up in the emotion,’ he points out. ‘We just watch it and keep calm, make decisions for the players’ sake — that’s our role. Would you be expecting a Mayoesque frantic game [on Sunday]? I suppose it can evolve into that but if you look at games this year, Gaelic football hasn’t gone to that frantic state too often.
‘There was a bit of it in Mayo maybe, the Kerry and Monaghan game I suppose, but the hurling had it all the time this year and we’ve had very little. It’s been very stand-offish football.’
And while the idea of going to Croke Park on Sunday to watch teams going out to negate the opposition mightn’t make for the most appealing All-Ireland final from a spectators’ perspective, Darcy says that as a coach, the challenge excites him.
‘From a spectators’ point of view, it may not look that good but as coaches looking at it, you can see teams adjusting to suit their own players. Mickey Harte does it really, really well and I think it’s very interesting to see it. It mightn’t be very exciting for the spectator but it is interesting to see managers and coaches setting up what is best for their team.
‘The big debate this year was probably around Galway and were they right to be defensive? Kevin [Walsh] was probably not so happy with people saying he’s defensive but the perception of how they set up was there. That’s the way they want to do it. We want to play football, that’s the bottom line. We want the lads to express themselves and be the best that they can be,’ Darcy insists.
‘Every game takes its own context but we want them to go out and play football. We’d like to have 15 against 15, six forwards against six backs. We’d go back to that any day.’