TERRY Hyland has revealed juggling the Cavan job and his work/life had become “unsustainable” and that he was left with no other choice but to walk away from the Breffni post.
The Lacken clubman admitted he was tempted to remain for a fifth consecutive year in charge after guiding his native county to Division One – but could not find the extra hours in the week to commit to the role.
Hyland, who stepped down at the beginning of August, said: “My own work probably would have made up 90 per cent of my decision. It was that much. I know I worked 55 to 60-hour week, which is unsustainable.”
Hyland’s contribution has been lauded inside and outside the county since his departure, but he had to make a cold, hard decision for the benefit of Cavan football.
“Playing Division One would have been a factor but you have to be fair to everybody,” he said.
“You have to be fair to the group of players. Would you be able to put the extra hours in? Are you going to give the players everything you’ve got? Have you got the time to do all that? Do you believe you’re good enough to do it?
“It came down to, did I believe I could give the extra time over to the players to make them the best they could be – and I didn’t have the time to do it.”
Hyland, who runs a hardware store, said he would “love” to manage at the highest level again – but his work-life currently wouldn’t allow it.
“Look, I wouldn’t say no [in the future]. I loved being involved in it. I would probably have to sort out my work-life before I would go back into senior inter-county management because of the intensity, and the time you need to put in is getting beyond being a part-time thing.
“I know people would say, it was never a part-time job but it’s getting to a 40-hour per week to manage an inter-county team.”
After winning two promotions to reach Division One, Hyland’s Cavan side pushed eventual Ulster champions Tyrone to a replay.
They were hammered in the second game by 10 points before easing past Carlow in their opening All-Ireland Qualifier. However, Cavan came unstuck in an enthralling clash with a resurgent Derry side and exited the Championship.
The Cavan post has yet to be filled with former players Dermot McCabe and Peter O'Reilly being linked to the role.
Regardless of who succeeds Hyland, he feels Cavan can stay in Division One next season.
“They are equal to 60 per cent of the teams in Division One, so that gives you a chance to stay in it. I think six points would keep you in it, provided you don’t take a hammering from anybody because we’ve seen teams getting relegated on scoring averages.
"You have to look at who you can compete against and you have to make sure you get a result out of those games.
“Everybody says you should target your home games. I don’t believe in that. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in Kerry, Dublin or in Kingspan Breffni Park. You saw Roscommon going gung-ho in
Division One and they maybe over-stepped it too early for themselves and maybe ran out of gas in the Championship. It’s all about balance.
“The Dublins, the Kerrys, the Mayos and Donegal up to this year, they are competing against the better teams all the time. They don’t necessarily feel as if they have to compete in League finals all the time, but they make sure they are playing all these better teams on a regular basis."
