In the build up to this Saturday’s Ulster Senior championship meeting with Cavan the Saffron Gael carries an interview I had with Enda McGinley in the week following their final day defeat to Westmeath in the Allianz National League division 3. As always the Antrim manager was forthright in his assessment of Antrim’s season and the state of Antrim football at present. His opinion on what needs to be done to improve the state of Antrim football right across the board are thought provoking and make a lot of sense.
Saffron Gael: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Having had time to reflect on the loss to Westmeath I want to ask you about that game and the season in general. I know talking to people before the season began that most would have settled for consolidation this year in division 3 but as matters progressed it was evident we were in the chase for a promotion place.
What are your thoughts on a Westmeath game we should have won and did the Limerick result against Fermanagh make that result a little less painful?
Enda McGinley: The Westmeath match was frustrating and in some ways summed up our League campaign. I thought the team showed moments, in fact more than moments, long period of real quality and the effort level was good throughout. Yet we still get the result and when we look back on it I think we will see it is the simple mistakes at key periods that hurt us the most. We became more speculative in terms of our ball in and didn’t stick to some of the things that had been working for us earlier in the game. So frustration probably the main emotion coming away from it. Progress and potential are fine and I think the team has shown both yet we have failed to come away with the big prize and primarily through our own mistakes. To be honest with the way results had to pan out I had already come to terms with missing out on promotion and with the way our game ended Fermanagh/Limerick was far from my mind.
Saffron Gael: Give me your thoughts on the season in general, the games we could have won, I’m thinking of Limerick after a terrible start, Laois where the ‘Square Ball’ decision wasn’t given and how an extra couple of points from those games would have made such a difference in the end?
Enda McGinley: Yeah look a league of what might’ve been. Absolutely. As a group we have to look at those near misses and I think when we do, we have to accept that it is not some sort of hard luck story nor was our failure down to not being good enough. I firmly believe every game was winnable and I think the lads can see that too. That leaves us in the uncomfortable place of asking what are we missing as a group to turn the hard luck games into wins rather than the useless ‘what ifs’ chat. In moments we have shown real quality right across the team yet the steely consistency to play it over a full match has been missing. And look, that’s hardly just an Antrim thing – for pretty much every team out there, across whatever sport you want to look at, consistency of performance is the most elusive of things. For me that’s one of the key challenges of stepping up to play county football. It’s tough. Little things are exposed in a way that at other levels they are not. As I’ve said to the lads on numerous occasions, it is not easy being a county player, you put yourself out there to a public test both individually and as a team – I think any player that commits to that process and takes the ups and downs has something special inside them – as a group we have a few weeks now to try and get ourselves to a better level.
Saffron Gael: You have introduced a few new faces over the season and held on to some of the tried and trusted ones. I believe that in the past we have had too many changes in our panel every time that a new manager has come in to take charge of an Antrim team and as a result there has been no continuity. Keeping a panel together has been important to our success since you took over. Do you agree?
Enda McGinley: Agree, I think that is key for any county now is keeping a large number of players together over a consistent period of time. There will always be a few that cannot commit for various reasons and with injuries and age others will step away so a natural changeover will be there and is of course healthy. The core group has to change very slowly though. The time needed physically for players to get to the required level isn’t just a ‘put in a good winter of weights’ thing. The time needed for a team to play together enough to start to find those levels of consistency I spoke of previously is not a one season thing. It’s also the reason why it’s so key that all those promising lads at 18-20 years of age are kept within the system in a way that means they are ready to play senior ball when the opportunity comes.
Saffron Gael: A better level of fitness and aggression was one of the ingredients needed when you took over and it seems to me that we have achieved that but is it a department where we need to improve more as we move forward?
Enda McGinley: I think the area of fitness and conditioning is an area where always improvement can be made and where no shortcuts are available. There is no mystery to it but rather just consistent application of effort over time. None of that happens by chance and again it takes special individuals in terms of the players to commit to that. The other area you mention aggression or intensity is the x-factor. It is almost impossible to put into an individual or team as it’s driven by things like hunger, desire, pride. If individuals have that inside them and if a team finds it within the group, it is the rocket fuel which lifts them to a different level. Without it, all the tactics or coaching in the world is completely hollow. To be fair to Cavan they have shown it in spades over the years. The challenge for our lads is clear.
Saffron Gael: Michael McCann continues to set the standards for Antrim, even at this stage of his career and hopefully he’ll still be there to play a part next season. I know you won’t want to talk about individual players but what are your thoughts on the panel as a whole and are there any of the fringe players knocking on the door for a starting place?
Enda McGinley: Look, Mick, if he was from Tyrone would have multiple all-stars by this stage and there would be a few others with him. He’s been really key for us and to be fair has been managing an injury all year so to keep himself where he’s been is remarkable. To be fair only for the way his wife looks after him he’d never be fit to do what he does. Regarding the panel as a whole, there are multiple players that would merit more consistent game time to allow them to fully see what they have yet the nature of county football means that those opportunities are limited in the course of a very competitive season. Training wise there are definitely people making great progress which is good to see and there are several who may not be seeing much game time so far this year but who I have no doubt will be key players in coming years.
Saffron Gael: The forthcoming Ulster Championship game against Cavan now becomes the focus. I admire Antrim’s stand against switching it from Corrigan and I’m really looking forward to it. Despite playing in division 4 this year Cavan will provide us with a very stiff challenge but it is one we are capable of overcoming. What’s your thoughts on the Cavan game?
Enda McGinley: Look I think the dogs in the street knew that Cavan weren’t a division 4 team. That league final between Cavan and Tipp could’ve just as easily been a division 3 final or higher. We have spoken of conditioning earlier and Cavan are easily the most physically strong team we have come up against this season. They cake walked division 4 to be honest. The one game they lost to Tipp, I’ve watched it and they should’ve had four goals but just had one of those days. So between that, their proven championship heart and fight and the experience of Mickey Graham and Ricey on the line, they are a huge challenge for us. With that, I’m obviously delighted the game is in Corrigan I think that was a misstep by the Ulster council which to be fair was quickly fixed and equally without any dispute from the Cavan camp at all so I think it can be put to bed now. Is it winnable for us? Well just like promotion was, it is there for us surely but we have to produce a performance level which we haven’t managed this year to date. It’s in us and there would be no better day to produce it.
Saffron Gael: Our U20’s played Derry at Owenbeg in the Ulster Championship and looked to be up against it but did reasonably well. We seem to be behind the other counties in Ulster with our juvenile development. What do you think needs to be done to close the gap?
Enda McGinley: That’s the million dollar question isn’t it. From schools input, to supporting clubs and running great club competitions, to developments pathways for your top players from 16 onwards – all of these are crucial. There has to be a recognition though of the value to a county and the clubs of strong county level teams. In terms of attracting children through the gates, and given them dreams and ambition to play the game, county football is a huge advertising billboard that every club can develop from. The mind set of county teams somehow detracting from clubs is a major handbrake on progress. Our young players should be encouraged to aspire to it and see it as something to be valued and proud of. Too often at present they seem set in opposition to each other. With Casement hopefully getting the green light soon, the hope has to be for proud Antrim Gaels to watch their young club people play on that pitch representing the best of Antrim clubs as they compete with all teams across the country. In the here and now, there would be no better impetus for such hopes than a performance of real quality from the lads against Cavan.
Later this week we will be taking a look at the last time Antrim and Cavan met in the Ulster championship and assessing the Saffron’s chances on the lead up to Saturday’s sell out encounter at Corrigan Park.