HE'S easily Gaelic football’s best known substitute but Kevin McManamon has admitted that he wants to ditch the frustrating supersub tag before his Dublin career ends.
At 29, the powerful attacker has a job on his hands to do that after making a career out of scoring famous goals from the bench, particularly against Kerry, but says he’s determined to do so and to become a high profile first teamer.
Last season neatly summed up how McManamon’s Dublin career has played out generally so far. He started their first three Championship games but scored just two points in total, compared to coming on as a sub in the remaining four games and contributing 2-2 overall.
That 2-2 tally was comprised of dramatic 1-1 returns in both of their ties against Mayo, a drawn All-Ireland semi-final and replay.
McManamon still believes he deserves to be a regular starter though and revealed a personal target to take strong form into the later months of the season to convince boss Jim Gavin to keep him in the team.
“That’s a big bullseye for me,” said McManamon. “I want to do something that I’ve never done before and that’s be a big player for 70 minutes, rather than what I’ve become accustomed to or what management have decided for me.
“Circumstances have decided it as well, players playing better than me in the All-Ireland series. But there’s no doubt that it’s the goal.
“I get on well with Jim Gavin and he’ll always listen to your opinion and he’ll always trash the situation out with you. Yeah, I have said it to him and I would feel the solution is down to my application. It’s down to me needing to play well in training in August and September which I haven’t done over the years.
“I think sometimes it’s a bit lazy for people to say, ‘the reason he’s not starting me is because I make an impact (off the bench)’. That’s not really the case. I feel I’m in control of it.”
McManamon has three All-Ireland winners’ medals but has yet to start a final meaning he has never experienced the traditional pre-match parade that the starting teams engage in. Asked if that is a big goal, he responded immediately, ‘Yeah’.
McManamon said that the prize for winning over those who believe he can only be a substitute would be a great one.
“It would be a nice little feather in the cap if you could get in ahead of the guys who, in time, are going to be seen as the greats,” he said. “It’s a sticky forward line to get into but, yeah, I do like a challenge.”
McManamon was speaking at the launch of the Allianz football leagues which begin for Dublin, the three-in-a-row champions, on Saturday evening when they take on Kerry in a repeat of September’s All-Ireland decider.
He won’t take any part, however, as he is a number of weeks away from full fitness following surgery on a shoulder injury that privately bothered him throughout 2015.
“I got a knock in the Fermanagh game in the All-Ireland quarter-finals and that made it a lot worse so I was strapping it up for the last eight weeks of the year and just getting through the club games with it,” said McManamon.
“So there was no real gym work done, there hasn’t been in six months really. I’m only getting back into it. In terms of a time frame, I’m nearly there. I’m back doing full contact this week so fingers crossed. This weekend might come too early for us but hopefully soon enough.”
