McDermott delighted that hard work paid off

You just knew it was something special when Marty Morrissey was hanging around.

As RTE wanted to gather the thoughts of Wolfe Tones manager Micheal McDermott in the aftermath of his side's SFC final victory over Dunboyne the Kilberry/Oristown community descended on the hallowed turf of Pairc Tailteann to smother their hero in Covid-responsible well-wishes.

McDermott fist bumped and clashed elbows with hundreds of rapturous fans, a few sneaky hugs and kisses were thrown in for good measure, but when the chance arose the Meath-adopted Cavan man firmly set his allegiances in the warm embrace of his welcoming community.

McDermott has had many great days in management and he's pragmatic enough to know they come around very often and because of that he relished Sunday's success with all he had.

"You always say, is there going to be another one? It is two years since I came to Wolfe Tones in extremely difficult conditions because of Covid, but when you look at what the Co Board has produced this year - an outstanding championship - and you see the players lifting the Keegan Cup for the first time in 15 years it strikes a note," said McDermott.

"Once I have that crest on my chest I am a Wolfe Tones man through and through here today and that's all that mattered to me.

"It is such a joy to be among these players. I'm privileged because this group of players are full of leaders. All you have to do is get the game plan and work on things, but the players drive themselves.

"You can see on the field there today how they drive each other on, that probably comes from a lot of them being brothers and relations of each other, they would die for each other on the field and that's what today was all about - going out and giving your best and doing everything for the parish.

"The whole community came out in huge support for us today, so it is great to be going home to them with the Keegan Cup."

In the build up to Sunday's sensational win McDermott spoke about the 'unique' bunch of players at his disposal, after the game he revealed that he had set a goal on Friday for the first time this year.

"We haven't set goals for ourselves all year, but we set a goal for ourselves on Friday night to give a 10 out of 10 performance," admitted the Cavan man.

"A 10 out of 10 performance is not all about playing quality football, it's about working hard, fighting for each other and putting your bodies on the line. I think the character and putting their bodies on the line is what won us the cup in the end.

"The third quarter hasn't been kind to us in a number of the matches we have played this year, so we were very focused on coming out of that period on the right side. It was important for us to get through it, it was important to keep our lead.

"We have serious talent coming off the bench, so we knew we had it in the legs to finish it off and close it out."

Leading by four points at half-time, Wolfe Tones saw that lead whittled down to just one very quickly after the restart, so was McDermott worried at any stage?

"It would be easy to say no, but I get concerned in every match,” he admitted.

"Even in the semi-final when Ratoath got their penalty, I was looking to see how we would react, but fair dues to the players they reacted well to every little setback today, every wide, every dropped ball, they refocused and got on with it."

McDermott revealed there is no great secret to Wolfe Tones' success. Having cool heads and great leaders like Cian Ward certainly helps, but the manager puts the win down to hard work and a great attitude.

And he doesn't believe Sunday's win is the end of the journey yet.

"He (Cian Ward) is in fantastic shape. Look at the runs he makes, that run he made in the last five minutes against Ratoath to lay the ball on for Caolan (Ward) was outstanding. He puts in an unbelievable effort in training and in his whole routine to get ready for match day.

"It is testament to him, age doesn't matter to that team, everyone performs and gives everything, he has had it in the legs all year long.

"We are difficult to break down because we work so hard and we ensure our game plan is all about disciplined defending and putting pressure on the man with the

ball.

"From a defensive point of view we work on it night after night at training and forwards leave a lot of nights very, very frustrated and today you can see the reason why.

"We have a brilliant defence, but our defence is from number 15 back to number one.

"We talked all year long about being on a journey. We talked before today's game that our journey could end here today or it could keep going.

"Leinster is now the next part of that journey and we will prepare for that the same way as we have for every match. Just because it was a county final today we didn't change our plans.

"It is brilliant to have a week off now, the players certainly deserve it and then we will have three weeks to focus.

"Tonight and the next week is all about enjoyment and giving something back to the community, then we will refocus for the next challenge ahead," concluded McDermott before being whisked off to join the Marty party.