Clarke aiming to restore O'Mahonys to senior
After their flirtation with relegation in last year’s IFC, Navan O’Mahonys badly needed a manager to come in and steady the ship.
In Darren Clarke, who is a Louth native with Meath heritage, the Brews Hill side have without a doubt steadied the ship and may be sailing back towards senior football.
They are one game away from a return to the senior ranks as they face Duleek-Bellewstown in the IFC decider on Saturday in Dunganny.
Clarke, who took the job of the back of a year of coaching the Meath Ladies team, has been impressed with the players' commitment and dedication throughout the year.
“There was no real pressure put on us at the start. We knew ourselves the direction we wanted to take the team in. We obviously wanted to improve on last year because the lads were in a relegation battle," recalled the O'Mahonys manager.
"We had a good league campaign and built our fitness and mental strength. The players' commitment and dedication was really good and that is what we asked from them. We are getting rewarded now with a big day out in the county final.”
Navan O’Mahonys lost their first outing in the Meath IFC to St Patrick’s but that defeat did not overly concern Clarke too much. Clarke went on to speak about the depth within the squad and the competition for places in the starting 15.
“The loss in the first round didn’t really put us under any pressure. I felt we were the better team for long periods of that game and the goal changed the game a bit," he said.
"The team has a bit of a different look since then. We have such a big panel that it is really hard to pick the starting 15. There are changes in every game and it comes down to who is giving their best in training to be able to get into the starting lineup,” said Clarke.
“The competition for places is fierce within the group which is brilliant and it is where you want to get to. Everybody is fit and healthy and for ourselves to be able to bring lads off the bench that would probably start for a lot of other teams is a big bonus to have.”
Clarke spoke about how working with a sports psychologist has really improved Navan O’Mahonys as a squad this year both as individuals and as a collective.
“The lads were very relaxed ahead of that semi-final. You can be a bit worried at times if the lads are too relaxed but they have good control over their emotions. We have done a lot of good work with a sports phychologist and that has really helped the group from a mental side of things.
"It has really helped them both as individuals and as a collective. I think that was very evident in how much control the lads showed in the semi-final and the lads really managed that game very well. They went at it from the start and managed the game really well.”
Standing in the way of Navan O’Mahonys and the Mattie McDonnell Cup is Duleek-Bellewstown. Clarke has the utmost respect for their IFC final opponents and praised them for their performance against Walterstown in the semi-final.
“We give every team we play the utmost respect. We do our due diligence on them and we plan accordingly," insisted the O'Mahonys boss.
"With Duleek-Bellewstown, it is not about one individual (Eamonn Armstrong), we know the quality that they have and the experience that they bring. We are no under no illusions about the challenge that is ahead.
"They are similar to ourselves in that they have aspirations to go up to senior. I was very impressed with them against Walterstown. They are in the final on merit and they have performed really well on the journey.”
A club with the stature and history of Navan O’Mahonys should really be competing in the SFC. Under the guidance of Clarke they are just one game away from a return to the senior ranks.