JAMES McCARTAN has ruled out a return to managing Down’s senior football team.
The Burren clubman, twice an All-Ireland winner as a player and the only manager since 1994 to take the county to the final, says it’s “someone else’s turn” to walk the line for the Mourne men.
“I’m yesterday’s man,” he said when rumours of his return were put to him on Thursday. He confirmed he has no plans to return after a season away from his former role which began in 2010 – the year he guided Down to the Sam Maguire decider that they lost to Cork by a point – and ended in 2014.
McCartan also took his county to the Ulster Senior Football Championship final in 2012 and, though Down lost the decider to Donegal, they went on to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The following year, Down came close to beating then All-Ireland champions Donegal at the Ulster semi-final stage and he soldiered on in 2014, before stepping down at the end of the season. It’s apparent that five years were enough.for McCartan.
“I’ve done my penance and I’m going straight to heaven,” he said with a laugh.
“Five years with Down means that I’ve ticked a whole lot of boxes and it’s someone else’s turn. Nobody was ever going to ask me and it was never going to be an option.”
His replacement Jim McCorry came in for just one campaign before he resigned and, now, Down are on the search for someone to rekindle past glories. Frank Dawson and Conor Deegan have confirmed their interest, but the Down county board have given no indication of who the new man will be.
Currently head coach of Queen’s University Belfast, McCartan took charge of an Ulster select for a charity match in Newcastle during the summer. With his pedigree, he is always likely to be linked with managerial vacancies and there were even rumours he could be set for a cross-county switch to Armagh for a role as forwards’ coach. He ended them too.
“It’s all news to me,” he said.
