McEnaney eager to maximise massive potential

Strolling to the doors of the Fiddlers Elbow in Carrickmacross last Friday emblazoned proudly with a Meath GAA top there was a new found sense of welcome for Meath men in Monaghan, after all the Farney have just agreed to loan one of their own to the Royal cause. New Meath senior football manager Seamus McEnaney was expecting our arrival and as he strode towards us in the expansive lounge of his thriving pub business he accepted congratulations and best wishes from several customers. There were a few that offered jovial comments, but McEnaney took them in the manner in which they were presented. He cut a swathe of confidence, sure of his own ability and footballing brain that elevated the status of Monaghan football from also-rans to genuine contenders. Ultimately luck deserted the Corduff clubman and his time with Monaghan came to a disappointing end, but that failed to dampen 'Banty's' spirit. It is clear from the moment of first contact with McEnaney that he is an infectious man. He talks with a passion for Gaelic football and an authenticity that is rare in the inter-county world. He holds Meath football in high regard and has a vision for success mapped out in his mind. “I have a simple philosphy for Gaelic football. I know the expectations are high in Meath, but the reality for me is that I want to maximise the potential of Meath football,†stated the man who received the solid backing of the Meath Co Committee just two nights earlier. “I want to get every player that is capable of playing inter-county football playing for Meath. We can only tog out 26 players in games and it is going to be competitive, but that is what we want. “The first thing I am focusing on is having the best team available to us to play Laois in NFL Div 2 on the first Sunday in February. I know it is a cliche, but I will be taking it one game at a time and we won't be looking beyond that. “We have a lot of work to do. This team has to get fit and has to do a lot of strength and conditioning. We have to put a system together that suits this Meath team, not necessary what way we think. We have to suit the calibre of player that is in Meath and get them into decent shape. “We will try out players in the O'Byrne Cup and we will use the trials. From the first of January we will play games in training every Tuesday night and those games will be tougher than any league or championship game, I promise you that. “That is the foundation of how teams will be picked. Players will be selected on how they perform in training and in those training games. We will build on the work Eamonn O'Brien has done and bring Meath further,†said McEnaney. MCEnaney's departure from Monaghan was similar to the exit endured by Eamonn O'Brien in Meath. He didn't receive the full backing of the delegates, but was still favoured to return before decidining not to allow his name go forward for a seventh term. When O'Brien was removed from the Meath position McEnaney's name was one of the first mentioned as a possible replacement. McEnaney's wasn't sure if he would be accepted as an outsider, but once he invested more time and consideration he leapt at the chance to put his hat in the ring. “When I let my name go forward for the job I knew there would be the issue about Meath going for an 'outside' manager. I totally understand that some people would have very strong views on having an 'outside' man in charge and I would have respected the decision if clubs had decidied they wanted an inside manager,†said McEnaney. “As it turned out I'm delighted with the very strong recommendation that the clubs have given me. A 34 vote margin is great given the concerns that were floating around. This is a new road for Meath and I hope it will be successful. “There is a lot about Meath football that I like. I was delighted to be recommended by such hugely respected figures such as Barney Allen, Liam Keane and Joe Cassells. Those men put their neck on the line and gave me their full backing. “Getting such a strong recommendation from the clubs gives me a very strong foundation to make progress in Meath. Knowing I have the support of the clubs is crucial. “I'm a passionate man about Gaelic football and so are the Meath people. There is no concerns about me being able to convey my passion to the players in the dressing. “Meath people love their football and take it very serious. This has been confirmed to me over the last four weeks. No other county in Ireland would have 60 clubs meeting over a four week period to discuss a manager's position and that shows the passion Meath people have for their football. “The Meath passion and love of football excites me about this job. I am looking forward to drawing on that passion from the players and supporters to bring Meath football forward.†McEnaney was delighted with the backing he received from the Co Committee and the clubs and when he heard that Joe Cassells had compared his enthusiasm to that of Sean Boylan in 1982 he was taken aback. “Even to be mentioned in the same sentence as Sean Boylan is flattering to me. Every one knows I love my football and I believe that we can do a great job in Meath,†he said. “This is a decent group of players. They are ready for what this management team will bring to the table and I'm really looking forward to working with them because there is a decent raw material there. “There is a decent base of quality players already there, but it needs tweaking. I guarentee you that not one player from the 2010 panel is sure of his place on the panel for 2011. There will be freshness brought to the panel and teams will be picked on merit and not on their names. “I met with the players on Thursday night and there are under no illusions that they will have to work hard to earn a place on the Meath panel for 2011. “I have managed against this Meath team for the last five years and Meath people will realise very shortly that I always analyse the opposition very closely. Of the present Meath panel I know their strengths and weaknesses and everything about them because of the indepth analysis I carried out as Monaghan manager. I am not coming into this job cold. I have conducted some serious investigations over the last three weeks in anticipation that I might get the job. Meath are lagging behind other counties at the moment and I knew that if I got the job I had to have work done and be able to hit the ground running. “I have a lot of homework done on players who will come in for the three trial matches between now and Christmas. I have a lot of work done regarding who might make the panel for 2011. “I will always demand the best from the players. I would like to think that the Meath clubs have brought the most professional set-up to the table and I think that if players work in that professional environment then we will get the best out of them. The players are looking forward to starting work under this set-up and I'm certainly looking forward to running this ship as tightly and as firmly and as professionaly and as ruthlessly as I possibly can.†Part of the reason why McEnaney was accepted so convincingly by the Meath GAA clubs was because of the involvement of Liam Harnan. The former All-Ireland winning centre-back is a legend in Royal circles and McEnaney was keen to have him on board. “Liam Harnan is the assistant manager and he is a huge link in this chain. When there is a message to be delivered on the field in Meath it will be a Meath man that will be delivering it,†said the Monaghan man. “I have no doubt that when we want to get our word across and when Liam Harnan delivers it, it will be listened to. “He is exactly the type of man that I watched and admired playing in the 1980s. He is a hero of Meath football. He has no airs or graces, there are no grey areas and he is straight down the line. Everybody, including myself, knows where we stand with Liam Harnan and he is looking forward to getting involved with this management team. “Liam Harnan is not coming into this set-up to make up numbers. He certainly can never be called a 'yes man' and I don't want yes men on my team. People will see very quickly that I don't surround myself with yes men when they see myself, Liam and Paul Grimley have arguments along the sideline. “Liam was my first port of call in Meath. I told him that if he wanted to run for the job then I'd withdraw, but when he made it clear he wasn't running I made it my priority to get him involved with my team. Having Liam Harnan involved is also for the future. I'm no Sean Boylan, but with Liam Harnan involved there could be plenty of stability for the future of Meath football. “Martin McElkennon is the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. I've worked with Martin in the past and I know what way my team will be next May and it is the same with Paul Grimley. He is a fantastic football coach and that will be crucial. “I know I'm not the best team trainer and I'm not a strength and conditioning coach. The only time I will be taking training sessions is to work on tactics and maybe some coaching. One of my strengths is that I know my weaknesses and that is why I surround myself with the best men to do the jobs I can't. “Another very important man will be our physio Gerry Nolan. Gerry will be the head of the medical team and I know that he will hand the players back to me fully fit and ready to go. He will take proper care of the players. “If things don't work out people won't be pointing the finger at the selectors, or the physios and that is why I have to have men that I can trust and rely on around me,†concluded McEnaney. So the stage is set and the talking has been done. It is now down to McEnaney and his team of experienced professionals to bring Meath football back to where it belongs - the very top.