MALACHY O’ROURKE’S decision to stay on for a fifth term in charge of Monaghan has been welcomed by star forward Conor McManus.
The Fermanagh native had been mulling over his future since the Farney’s surprise round three Qualifier defeat by Longford at Clones last month. That came on the heels of losing their Ulster title after a semi-final replay defeat by Donegal and there had been speculation he would call time on his tenure a year short.
But the Monaghan county board confirmed on Tuesday that, “following a period of reflection”, their two-time Ulster-winning manager will continue with the same backroom team in place. Having gotten over the shock of their loss to giant-killers Longford, Allstar forward McManus was always confident the Derrylin native would see out the second of his two-year deal.
“The way the year ended up, you’re always going to have that thought, for both players and management. It’s only natural that Malachy might have considered it," McManus said.
“But I don’t think he ever really considered walking away. It’s probably just the manner of the way the thing played out that was a jolt to everybody.”
The closed season brings the question marks back over the heads of some of the long-serving members of O’Rourke’s panel. The futures of Dick Clerkin (34), Vinny Corey (33), Paul Finlay (33) and Dessie Mone (32) have yet to be clarified.
McManus feels the decision by O’Rourke to stay on in the role he’s held since 2013 could help sway some of the quartet to stay on board for another campaign: “The fact that it’s not a new regime helps. If it was a new man coming in with a new regime and a new plan for maybe two or three years, a new system or that, they might not be up for that," he added.
“Malachy, hopefully, is in for another couple of years and he’s aware of their abilities and how much they’ve contributed in the past and how much they still have to give. From that point of view, there’d be an understanding there. However that works out, hopefully it’s for the better of the team.”
It was a season that ended in disappointment, but one in which youngsters like Shane Carey, Conor McCarthy and Jack McCarron were handed some valuable Championship experience. They might not have hit the highs of their Ulster winning seasons of 2013 and last year, but they came within a whisker of Donegal twice.
From that, McManus takes heart: “We probably should have beaten Donegal the first day, we were in control of that game, three up at a stage of the second-half, though ultimately we ended up coming from behind to equalise," he said.
“You don’t run a team like Donegal that close without performing either. We would certainly have felt that there was more in us at the same time. There has been changes to the team this year. We probably felt we needed to blood a few new players.
“We nearly did it whilst winning. We were very close to getting to a fourth Ulster final, but we just didn’t manage it. But the year will stand to those boys and everybody. There’s a lot to be learned from it. As disappointing as it was, we have to look at it and see what we can do going forward with the experiences.”
Seven days after their semi-final replay defeat by Donegal, Monaghan fell victim to Longford. Having been hit by 1-1 in the opening four minutes, Monaghan recovered to lead by three at the break and McManus admits, looking back, there was a sense of having weathered the storm at that stage.
Even after Robbie Smyth’s goal pushed the Leinster side four clear, the Clontibret man felt Monaghan could have rescued it, had it not been for their rashness in possession: “Longford, in fairness to them, came out and hit us with everything they had and kicked some great scores. We probably panicked a wee bit in the second-half and tried to force things a bit," he said.
“We missed a lot of chances. We missed probably 1-3 or 1-4 on the bounce, without Longford having any attacks, when the game was in the melting pot. Longford hit us with the goal with six or seven minutes to go. Even then, we had possession, but we panicked, which is something we hadn’t been doing.
“Whether that was to do with the games before, we’ll not make any excuses. Longford beat us and we have to deal with it.”
