Football

Enda McGinley talks highs and lows and his ambitions for Antrim football

Enda McGinley on why he's taken the Antrim job Picture: Margaret McLaughlin
Enda McGinley on why he's taken the Antrim job Picture: Margaret McLaughlin Enda McGinley on why he's taken the Antrim job Picture: Margaret McLaughlin

Following Enda McGinley's appointment to the Antrim senior football manager's post, Brendan Crossan caught up with the three-times All-Ireland winner about the highs and lows of an incredible career and what he hopes to achieve with the Saffrons....

BC: What did you learn during your two years managing Swatragh?

EMcG: A huge amount. I suppose Swatragh were a team down around the lower reaches of the Derry top flight but did have a promising batch of talent. The challenge was to raise standards and, in fairness, they seemed to respond well. We finished third in the first year and came top in the mini league section this year which was positive.

They won their first knock-out championship games in a long time which was great but went on to suffer disappointment at the quarter-final stage.

The first year against Banagher, because of the form coming into it, was particularly disappointing. That unfortunately is all part of it, some teams have break-out wins, like Dungannon in Tyrone this year, but for most teams – as you’ve seen with Cavan – it’s about sticking with the hard work and being diligent in everything you’re at year upon year.

There’ll be hard knocks along the way but you have to keep the faith in the process. I suppose from an Antrim point of view maybe those three narrow promotion misses mean the players have taken their share of hard hits. As long as you’re not putting it down to just being unlucky or that it’s somehow bound then to happen next year, then I think it has been a valuable experience in those.

BC: Did you enjoy your time at Swatragh?

EMcG: Absolutely. I loved it. They were a great bunch of lads that fully engaged in training. I’d be very fond of a lot of them now. Some real characters but keen lads and quality footballers. I’m happy that myself and Stevie [Quinn] give the job our all and while success escaped us I think there was real progress there. They are a young squad and I think they can continue to push onto higher levels again.

BC: Would you say you’re obsessed with football?

EMcG: I wouldn’t say obsessed though the average person would think differently. I suppose a good part of every week for me is spent either watching games, listening to GAA podcasts, commentating or writing about it. I suppose in fairness that is probably fairly obsessed, yeah [laughing]…

BC: What do you know about the standard of Antrim football?

EMcG: My primary awareness obviously would have been going to the various Cargin championship matches [where his brother-in-laws Michael and Tomas McCann play], but obviously I was aware of the likes of St Enda’s and their run at intermediate level a couple of seasons ago and the level that St Gall’s reached further back.

The club games that I’m at - and I’ve been around the Derry and Tyrone club scenes now - the top teams are as good as there is in any other county.

You can see the seriousness and a level of coaching that’s going on that has those players playing intelligent, quality football. From watching the county team, I suppose you see the glimpses of potential, and that goes for this year’s Championship too. The challenge is to both try to continue raising that and then get the consistency.

There does seem to be an issue, which would not be uncommon among county teams at a so-called ‘lower level’ that there is a big change-over in personnel every year. Given the level the game is played at now that is a key trait that needs changed. You can’t become a top county player by coming in and out of the squad. The coaching and conditioning level simply cannot be reached on a personal level with anything other than a consistent approach over several years.

BC: How was your interview with Antrim officials? And who brought what to the table?

EMcG: It was obviously virtual which makes things tricky and unnatural from the get-go but I found it fine actually. It was an open discussion by both parties which delved into expectations, footballing approach, team structure, approach to raising standards and establishing the right ethos. I don’t think there is any point being less than straight in such interviews as taking a job on false pretences with the board will only create issues down the line if either party’s expectations in terms of the set-up and resources required have been misled.

There were obviously some very good candidates in for the job and I’m sure good interviews done too. I think it’s key that both parties feel they are on the same page and can work together productively as at the end of the day we are all looking to do our very best for Antrim.

BC: Do you feel it’s exciting times for Antrim GAA with Casement Park getting the green light, Corrigan Park getting a face-lift, ‘Gaelfast’ and the vision of Saffron Business Forum?

EMcG: It’s very obvious. But that great work off the pitch has to start getting results on the pitch. Obviously the work at youth level takes years to come through but there is nothing like a bit of progress and success at senior level to really drive that. Success on the pitch will make the efforts off the pitch even more productive and easier maintained. The hurlers are doing fantastically, so it's up to the footballers to not be left behind and I think there is very much the talent and appetite there to ensure that doesn’t happen.

BC: Describe your relationship with Stevie O’Neill who you’ve brought with you?

EMcG: [laughing] We essentially operate now as a husband support group for those married to strong women! Us, our wives and our children are very close to be fair. We’ve spent most of our adult lives sitting on buses and in changing rooms talking football to each other. We know each other’s mindset both towards the type of players that you’re looking and the type of set-ups and the type of football that you want to play. We would be different personalities which hopefully balance each other out.

BC: What’s your timetable in regards to assembling an Antrim panel?

EMcG: You’re hoping the CCCC comes out with a fixture plan relatively soon. The word is mid-February for the start of the League so you’ve roughly 11 weeks, which isn’t a long timeframe at all. We’d like to get a training panel together between now and Christmas and have final panel formalised by the turn of the year.

BC: Cavan just won the Ulster Championship and yet Antrim could easily have caused an upset against them. Do you take encouragement from that?

EMcG: I’d always be wary about comparing across different games. You take the games in isolation and what you can say is that Antrim played very well against Cavan and should have won the game. As the game wore on some of the decision-making on the ball faltered more than what it had done earlier.

I suppose the key is that the players can feel that progression up through the ranks is very much achievable; the performance against Cavan and Cavan’s consequent success should hopefully have created a mind-set ready to start making real step-ups.

BC: You’ve won three All-Irelands with Tyrone. Does it open doors for you?

EMcG: I suppose you don’t know as you only ever live your personal experience. But you do seem to get offers that you wouldn’t normally expect and that is likely due to having a profile as a player and with the media work I do. Doors do open but you’re still always trying to earn the respect of your peers with every opportunity you get. You can either take the easy option or put yourself on the line and I suppose that’s the way we were told to take our football in Tyrone.

It’s great to be associated with the game and, to be honest, I still very much love the game.

BC: We’ll start with your brother-in-laws. So Michael McCann will play at midfield and Tomas at full-forward, and build everything around them!

EMcG: [Laughing] Several of the McCann clan have told me they’re out of retirement now! Even Peter is going to make a comeback but given his disciplinary record I’m not sure he’ll make the cut!

BC: Michael is 35 but judging by his performances at club and county level this year, do you feel he still has plenty to offer?

EMcG: Ah I’m not sure. I think water carrier is an important and overlooked role! No, look seriously, of course I think he’s a lot to offer and plenty of the other older brigade as well. He’s a typical example of the quality of players Antrim can produce and have done over the years, no less than Sean Kelly (who obviously I’ve been lucky enough to be able to convince to join our little adventure) but players who are as good as any other player in other counties yet never gain the plaudits, the big stage or the rewards that the top of the game can bring and which their talent and application deserve.

BC: Would you like Paddy Cunningham to stay on?

EMcG: I haven’t contacted any of the players as yet. But he certainly had an impressive role in the Championship. I’ll sit down and talk with him but certainly a birth certificate shouldn’t be the decisive factor in judging what a player has to offer. I played with Peter Canavan and Brian Dooher when they were well into their 30s and they were hardly passengers.

If a player has something to offer, then his age is irrelevant. We want leadership and experience too.

BC: A ‘B’ Championship: For or against?

EMcG: If it’s done right, I think it can be a good thing. If it’s given promotion and respect and there is money behind it, then it could be a success and would allow these teams and players a higher profile, which can be a real help in furthering the game in a county. So, rather than having an extra million on the TV rights, force the TV companies that a quarter of the games have to be screened in this competition. These aren’t secondary teams or players that are somehow poor…

I’d love to see a county win a ‘B’ Championship in the same way a club winning an intermediate title. There is no sense of second class citizens because it is every bit as difficult for them to win that title as a top county winning at the top level. The lure and the romanticism of the Sam Maguire is going to be very hard to shift away from but I do think it has value - if it’s done right.

BC: Your biggest achievement?

EMcG: The club county title in 2012. As players there is always that feeling of wanting to feel that you have stepped up to the plate. I suppose that year I felt I did that and from that there is a huge personal satisfaction. That turned out to be my last year, which adds more value for me.

BC: Not the 2008 All-Ireland title and Allstar that followed?

EMcG: Look, county level is always going to be bigger deal and of course from an overall achievement point of view it’s the one that ticks all the superficial boxes of success. All-Ireland, Allstar, Compromise Rules etc. but what feels the best on a personal level isn’t what people might think looking from the outside. Even though I’m a county manager now, that success with my club was just more personal because of numerous circumstances around it.

BC: Did you find it hard when you finished playing?

EMcG: It was because it was taken out of my hands. I injured my neck again and lost power in my arm. It was one too many times and with a wife and a family and having won a good bit, stepping away was just what I had to do. Going back to the previous question, if I hadn’t have won that title in 2012, I think I would’ve struggled even more to come to terms with it.

BC: What did you actually miss about playing?

EMcG: The sense of purpose. You get over Christmas and face into January and make those personal commitments for the year ahead. It’s a routine you are used to from being 12 or 13. It’s the hope, the dream and the personal challenge. It was massive. I think it’s that sense of challenge and rising to it is such an all-consuming thing - that is what I enjoy about management.

BC: What was your lowest point in your career?

EMcG: 2003, we drew with Derry in the first round of Ulster. It was my debut as a Championship player. It was the week of my finals exams at Jordanstown, so it was not ideal preparations. The team played poorly. I was hauled off with 20-25 minutes to go and in The Irish News there was a letter that week that absolutely slated Mickey McGee and me. I’ll never forget it. I remember going to training the next night feeling horrific, like I had embarrassed my family and myself.

I was very young at that stage and it was the biggest stage I’d played on.

As a player you have learned how to deal with that. It was the public stage and the public criticism that made it hit me.

Of course, that year we went on and won the All-Ireland yet that letter stuck with me and the person who wrote it. I suppose what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It was my lowest point but it also gave me the knowledge that you can respond to adversity. It’s also made me acutely aware of the impact on players, especially those with social media platforms. People spouting crap, the so-called keyboard warriors, they don’t stop to think. Players are dedicating their lives to it and some performances go against them. There is no need for personal abuse.

BC: The best player played with?

EMcG: Do I say Stevie O’Neill? No, I’ll go with the standard answer: Peter Canavan.

BC: Your toughest opponent?

EMcG: Conor Gormley. Training and at club level. He never missed a chance to belt you, and he knew all my injuries which just seemed to give him an incentive. Any club game you could be assured Gormley was behind you. You’d win all the ball you wanted but you get this hit to the back of the head and a cheeky giggle from him. I’d be very close to Conor but I’m still waiting on the apology! [laughing]

BC: What bits did you take from playing under Mickey Harte?

EMcG: When you’ve been under a manager for so long and he’s been such a big influence on you, you realise you may not have any of your own thoughts left! Everything has been in some way coloured by what you learned under him.

His biggest thing was that sheer desire to win. It starts and ends with that. I only ever see evidence to prove that point. You look at what Cavan have shown this year. You can sometimes win games without it, but you will never be anywhere close to your own potential until you bring that desire first and foremost.

BC: Is football better now than it was then?

EMcG: I hate and love it. I hate phases of completely passive play. I would love if there was some way we could prevent that from happening in a game, yet I can understand fully the reasons why it happens. At other times when the game is played at full pace and with the skill set and tactical astuteness of modern players I think it is better than it’s ever been.

Certainly its more intriguing and nuanced than it’s ever been. With that, it’s an amazing time to be involved in the game. I suppose the Antrim job gives you the opportunity to work at a really high level and see can we do something that is pretty good.