SEAN CAVANAGH predicts Cavan’s players will enjoy working with his former school and club manager Mattie McGleenan.
Fellow Tyrone native McGleenan succeeded Terry Hyland as Cavan boss in October and will hope to add to the impressive CV he has put together at college and club level.
The Eglish native guided Cavanagh to a MacRory Cup win during the three-time All-Ireland winners’school days at St Patrick’s College, Armagh and also managed him at club level with Moy before moving on Monaghan’s Scotstown and winning back-to-back county titles.
Tyrone and Cavan will clash in Division One on Saturday, February 25 at Healy Park, Omagh and Cavanagh wishes McGleenan success against every county bar the Red Hands.
“He’s a great fella, I’ve great time for Mattie,” he said.
“He’s one of the positive personalities around the GAA. The players will really love him up in Cavan. They’ll really embrace him because he's a players' person.
“He's been through schools football, club football and he's had incremental success in the last 10 years. He did very well with our own club even and I've no doubt they'll enjoy him up there but obviously county management is a tough game. I wish him all the best and I hope he does well unless he’s playing us.”
McGleenan is one of a number of Tyrone natives now involved with inter-county sides in Ulster: “The likes of Richard Thornton is up with Donegal now as well and there's a couple of guys with Derry,” said Cavanagh.
“That really doesn't have any influence on what we do as a county. You're almost a wee bit jealous that you have Tyrone men helping other counties but at the same time fair play to them. If there's no availability for them within their own county, they're within their rights to go and try their hand elsewhere.
“We’re the fourth biggest county in Ireland when it comes to GAA players and football's number one so on the law of averages you're going to get plenty of good coaches. I probably have trained through good understudies as well, club football has been very healthy in Tyrone the last 10/15 years as well. A lot of the guys have come up through that as well.”
Thornton is a new addition to Rory Gallagher’s backroom team and Cavanagh predicts that he will flourish with the 2015 Ulster champions: “I played with Richie in 2002,” he said.
“I would have come up against him in club football as well and he would have done a bit of coaching in St Joseph's and was coaching with Coalisland up until last year. “He’s a good lad as well, probably a big step up heading up into that Donegal pressure cooker that's up there, but I'm sure he'll embrace the challenge.”
Meanwhile, Cavanagh could feature in the Ó Fiaich Cup pre-season competition that throws-in at Crossmaglen on Sunday when Armagh take on Derry. Tyrone meet Louth in the second semi-final a week later.
“I’m back at it. I always said I wouldn’t want to do something by halves,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want to be the person who gets special dispensation or stands out of training or whatever. So it’s either do everything with the guys or do nothing.
“And I stand by that decision, I wouldn’t be coming back to play a bit part. I understand that the Ó Fiaich and McKenna Cup will probably suit some of the newer guys coming in to try stake their claims but, at the same time, I would like to be ready for the National League.”
