WINNING the Ulster Championship and then topping their Sam Maguire Cup group has proved that Derry weren’t dependent on Rory Gallagher, says Oak Leaf skipper Conor Glass.
Gallagher exited the Oak Leaf camp days before the Ulster final after allegations of domestic abuse had been made against him and Ciaran Meenagh was hastily promoted to manager. Despite the turmoil, Derry retained the Anglo-Celt Cup and have since qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-finals with a draw and two wins in their group.
“He (Gallagher) was mad on the line - he played every game with you, as I’ve said plenty of times before,” said Glass.
“But as players you do your training during the week and when it comes to game-day the manager doesn’t really have a say. It’s us out there coaching each other and I’d say other counties would say that as well.
“As much training as you do during the week, it’s preparing you for the weekend and that’s when the managers can’t really do anything, they can’t control the scenarios that are thrown up. We’ve dealt with that as players really well.”
Glass explained that the Derry players were given no input into the decision-making process over whether Gallagher could remain as team manager after the allegations against him had come to light. After announcing the Fermanagh native had announced that he was ‘stepping back’ the Derry County Board confirmed he had resigned his position.
“We were completely in the dark,” said Glass.
“As simple as it sounds, all we could focus on was the game - going to training that night and doing everything right. We stayed out of the public eye a bit more and all we could do for the Ulster final was win. We just set out to win and to get over the line was massive for us.
“If we had lost that game I don’t know what the round-robin series would have been like because there would have been a lot more questions asked of the team and of Ciaran and the management team.
“I don’t know the day when we last saw him, I think it was the week of when the news broke. It (the allegations against him) were so unknown to everyone, were unknown to all the players. He wasn’t a part of the Ulster final at all. Ciaran was our manager, that was it, and it has been like that for the last month.”
Glass and his experienced team-mate Chrissy McKaigue are two of the leaders in the Derry squad but the Watty Graham’s clubman said the entire panel has an input in team affairs. He paid tribute to new manager Ciaran Meenagh who was able to bring order out of chaos.
“He is an unbelievable fella in terms of football but also he’s a family man and an absolute gentleman and the way he has dealt with the whole situation has been outstanding,” said Glass.
“There would have been a lot of pressure on him and he’s the sort of character who puts everything into it, so to have that fulfilment of (proving to yourself) that you can coach at the highest level…
“He had probably questioned himself too because he hadn’t taken a county team before, but he had to step up the week of a game (the Ulster final) and to have that satisfaction of, firstly, winning an Ulster final and then going undefeated through the round robin stages… It’s unbelievable what he’s done so far.”
