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"A players' manager..." Conor Glass says Rory Gallagher kicks every ball with the Derry team

"He's a players' manager," says Conor Glass of Rory Gallagher. Picture: Margaret McLaughlin
"He's a players' manager," says Conor Glass of Rory Gallagher. Picture: Margaret McLaughlin "He's a players' manager," says Conor Glass of Rory Gallagher. Picture: Margaret McLaughlin

MANAGERS come in all shapes and sizes with a variety of styles but Rory Gallagher’s animated, kick-every-ball manner enthusiasm works brilliantly for Derry.

If his team weren’t playing so well on the pitch, Gallagher would probably get more attention on the sideline and midfielder Conor Glass says the Derry manager is “enthralled” in the action.

“He’s a players’ coach,” Glass explained.

“The fans probably don’t see that side of him because he’s so enthralled on the line. He plays every game with you which is all we can ask for. Different coaches go about it in different ways and that’s the way Rory goes about it.

“He knows every player inside out. He knows he can have a go at me, or Ethan Doherty but he knows some younger player might react to that differently so there are two sides to him.”

An early Glass point set the tone for Derry on Saturday evening. He added another in the second half and was also prominent in defensive situations. The Maghera native says the meticulous work Gallagher is doing with the reigning Ulster champions means they go into every game with confidence.

“We know we’ve done the work under Rory and that gives you the confidence to go out and perform every day,” he said.

“We’ve been consistent over the last two years, we’ve got the best defensive record in the country and we’re adding different strings to our bow. The more this team plays together the better it will be.”

Derry are now looking ahead to their second Ulster final on-the-trot and Glass is certainly a fan of the provincial Championship. After signing autographs and posing for selfie after selfie with delighted young fans, he said he hoped the Ulster Championship would be preserved.

“Today sums it up,” he said.

“And Tyrone-Monaghan a couple of weeks’ ago summed it up as well. As Derry players we got our first taste of it last year and we just want to keep having more days like this.

“It’s special. You saw the scenes in Clones after the Ulster final last year and I wish it would stay because it brings out days like this, it brings fans out and a different atmosphere to the community because you’re playing against your local rivals.

“It’s very special in Ulster.”

The former Aussie Rules star admits he didn’t expect to be chasing a second Ulster Championship winners’ medal so soon after parting company with AFL giants Hawthorn.

“Sitting in a café in Richmond a few years ago and the Ulster Championship was in the back of my mind,” he said.

“Did I think it was going to happen this early? Probably not. I can’t really reflect on it at the moment because I’m in the heat of it but five-10 years’ down the line it’ll feel pretty special after just coming off the plane two years’ ago.”

The spade work for the eight-point win was done in the first half and goals from Karl O’Connell and Karl Gallagher only served to keep Monaghan in a game that always looked beyond them.

“We got ourselves into a good position but we did that last year against Monaghan and they got it back to three points so we weren’t going to let them back in,” said Glass.

“They did get a couple of goals but I thought we saw out the game pretty well and it’s a good starting point for us going forward.”