O'Brien very disappointed over the lack of support

The standards in Meath GAA circles are so high that even a Leinster SFC title for the first time in nine years and a five-goal hammering of six-in-a-row chasing Dublin doesn't lend to job security. Something Eamonn O'Brien found out at last week's Co Committee meeting. After leading Meath to an All-Ireland SFC semi-final in his first year in charge and then following that up with a Leinster final win over Louth and an All-Ireland SFC quarter-final appearance the former Walterstown player now finds himself out on his ear. Last week club delegates opted not to ratify O'Brien for a third term in charge. It was a shocking development and one that was totally unexpected. Only a few months earlier O'Brien had been declared as the new Messiah of Meath football. The impressive Leinster SFC victories over Laois and Dublin earmarked Meath as genuine contenders for the Sam Maguire cup. All the pundits agreed, Meath were the real deal. While Meath were driving their way through Leinster, others like Kildare and Down were tripping through the back door. Few could have envisaged the subsequent turn of events. The nature of the win over Louth raised some cause for concern. When things didn't go according to plan in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Kildare, no moves were made on the sideline to correct the mistakes. That lack of input raised questions about the calibre of the management team. Then, team trainer Sean Kelly resigned, the second coach in two years to step down. Co Committee delegates had sought a discussion about the management issue at the August meeting and were assured by Co Committee chairman Barney Allen that such a debate would be held. However, the Co Committee Executive sanctioned O'Brien back for a third term without consultation with the clubs and the delegates rebelled. O'Brien was shocked and disappointed that the delegates opted not to give him a vote of confidence, but he also believes it was their democratic right to vote on the issue. "It's not for me to comment on why the clubs made the decision. Personally, I don't believe it was the right decision, but it's not for me to say they were right or wrong, that's for other people to decide," O'Brien told the Meath Chronicle this week. "I have no rancour or anger towards anybody regarding this situation. The decision has been made and that is it. "I spoke with the management committee about my plans for bringing Meath football forward and they raised some of the concerns that had been put to them. "They must have been happy with my answers because they unanimously recommended me for a third year, but they weren't the ultimate decision-makers. "I would have welcomed an opportunity to address the delegates and given them my views, but that didn't happen. "I was surprised and disappointed because I thought our record was reasonably good. I won't say it was great because everybody wants to win an All-Ireland title and we didn't manage that. "We made it to an All-Ireland semi-final in year one and won a Leinster final, albeit in bizarre circumstances, in year two. "We were disappointed in the way we performed against Kildare this year, but in saying that we did play well for 35 or 40 minutes in that game. "We learned more from that game against Kildare than we did in most of the other games. "We could see areas we needed to work on from that game and in terms of going forward into a third year we were confident we could improve the team further. "I would have liked the opportunity to have applied what we learned from the defeat by Kildare with a view to improving the team and getting to a position where I believe we could have challenged as genuine All-Ireland contenders. That was the next step for us. "I hope people realise that you have to plan for success. I had a plan in place and we were heading in the right direction. When I came into the job it was on the back of poor losses to Wexford and Limerick and I believe we managed to restore the pride in the jersey, which was crucial. "Year two was about getting silverware and we achieved that. We also wanted to unearth a few new players and we did that with lads like Gary O'Brien, Graham Reilly and Conor Gillespie. "Shane O'Rourke was also effectively a newcomer because he had missed so much football it was like starting all over again for him. "Kevin Reilly missed most of 2008 and 2009 because of suspension and injury, so this year we effectively had five or six new players coming into the reckoning. However, we also lost key players such as David Bray, Mickey Burke, Davy Dalton and Niall McKeigue and they could have played a big part for us this year had they been fit. We were also without Cormac McGuinness for a long time. "Hopefully I've left Meath football in a decent state, whoever takes over, maybe they can step it up a notch like we had planned. The players are there to compete for an All-Ireland," said the outgoing manager. The decision not to ratify O'Brien for a third year is seen by many as a protest against the Co Committee Executive, but O'Brien doesn't see it like that. "It was my name that was put forward for the vote, not the Co Committee, and 32 clubs choose not to ratify me," stated O'Brien. "I want to avoid getting involved in the politics of these things because my job was to prepare teams for competition. "I believe everybody made their decision for the right reasons, whether we agree or not doesn't matter. You can only do what you believe is right at the time and I'm sure it was no different for the delegates." While the manner of his departure is disappointing for O'Brien, the whole experience of managing Meath will not leave a sour taste. The job had its ups and downs and O'Brien experienced every emotion. There were times when he couldn't walk down the street without being asked his opinion on football. There were also occasions when his family and friends had to endure criticism, but O'Brien loved the job and still loves Meath football. "The win over Mayo last year was a great experience. We started badly, but showed typical Meath spirit to come back again and claim the win. The Leinster final win over Louth was also a pleasing occasion because we hung in that day despite not playing well. "I did enjoy the managers job, but it did have its surprise points. The publicity element was one I wasn't prepared for, but it just goes to show how popular the GAA is. "I worked with some great people during my time and I want to thank all the players and all the people that worked with us. "The girls in Pairc Tailteann also did a ferocious amount of work and I also want to thank Ray Finnegan of the Supporters Club and of course the supporters. It was a great experience and I'm sorry it didn't work out differently," concluded O'Brien. So where to now for O'Brien? His immediate future will see some attention for a troublesome knee. He will have a longer time to recuperate than planned, but rest assured he won't be too far away from football.