Consistent development of talent key to future of Offaly hurling – Michael Fennelly

MICHAEL Fennelly was an interested spectator as Offaly recorded a very encouraging win over Dublin in the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship semi-final over a week ago.

With his Offaly senior hurling squad training in O'Connor Park after it as they prepared for their Joe McDonagh Cup game against Kerry, Fennelly was delighted to see Offaly play very well and he planned on taking in Monday's Leinster final against Laois in Portlaoise.

While his focus is on the Offaly senior hurling team and winning the Joe McDonagh Cup, the Kilkenny hero is very much aware of the wider picture. Now in his third year as Offaly senior hurling manager, he is realistic about where Offaly hurling is at the moment and what needs to be done if it is going to get back as a competitive top tier team.

Speaking last week as Glenisk were officially unveiled as Offaly GAA sponsors for five years, Fennelly remarked:

“It is very promising to see a young bunch of players. We trained after their session last Saturday after their semi-final win over Dublin and did that specifically to try and go in and support the players and to train afterwards. That was a nice occasion and obviously they have no silverware won yet. Leo is well aware of that and they need a win now on Monday to get a medal in the pocket. I think it is great for Offaly. It would be very positive signs if they can get it and the same as previously, they need another strong team coming through, the U-16s, U-15s, U-14s, they need that to continue that conveyor belt.”

He spoke about how important it is to develop players and teams consistently, remarking that if this minor team is an isolated pocket, it won't change much in the long term.

“You don't have to have top talent coming through but you have to be competitive and if you have that in Offaly it will all eventually filter through to the senior team but you can't have it in small pockets every five, six or seven years. You can't turn a player at 21-22 years into a top Liam McCarthy player, especially in hurling.

“But there are a lot of promising things, Glenisk coming on board is massively promising to see, Shane Lowry being involved, Michael Duignan heading the whole thing up and leading the way. I can definitely see a lot of positives. Chatting to Liam O'Reilly, head of development of games, just seeing what is going on, the work with the GPOs, so a lot of good work is going on but there is much more to do. Offaly need more people coming to the fore and helping out, more volunteers, schools need to progress further in terms of the coaching aspect. I have no doubt there could be some structures needed in terms of coaching and development and helping them to progress and the GPOs will help that but more is still needed.

“The long term ambition is without doubt five to 10 to 15 years, that is what you have to look at, there is no point in looking at two to three years. It is down the line and it will take roots. Cork in 2008, 2009, 2010 decided to change their underage system and look now ten years later they have won under 20s. I don't know if they have won much underage at minor level but it is after coming to fruition at that level which is great to see. Limerick are the same, they will tell you they put in 10-15 years of work for what is happening now, probably 15 years to be honest, so it will happen.”

He has been happy with Offaly's results in the Joe McDonagh Cup, though he was disappointed their snatch and grab raid in Antrim fell agonisingly short.

“Getting two points there might have been a surprise for many people, especially after the beating they gave up in the relegation play off in the league, but it would have been nice to get the points there without a doubt. The game was there or thereabouts realistically for both teams and maybe a draw might have been a fairer result looking back on it but we scrambled two goals near the end and they got one in the last second. Performance was the key. We showed a good bit of heart and that we could compete with Antrim and that was important to us going up to Corrigan Park. It is very hard to play in Corrigan Park, it is a different venue and a different place and Antrim really thrive up there and use that home advantage.”

At the same time, the former midfielder is realistic about the performances.

“It's been going OK. Against Meath, the first half was fine, we executed well in terms of getting scores, the second half was very poor and I wouldn't be happy with that performance whatsoever. I think the last few weeks have gone very well. The Down game was a big one, again. Ballycran up in the middle of nowhere, it was an experience. We know what Down can do and how dangerous they are. We have huge respect for Down and played them on a number of times, so it was good to come out of there with a win and it was a good performance. There is another level in us, I think there has to be, and we'll see what happens.

“The away trips have worked out well in terms of preparation. The players are used to it now and we did one against Wexford as a trial run earlier in the year, just to make sure players were used to staying the night over. I never had to do it in my career, so it is a different bed, a different atmosphere and that is all important.”

He was questioned about Offaly's second half display in the win over Meath.

“Abysmal. Meath went a man down as well. That can make things a bit harder where the other team can rise above themselves and the other team thinks they have this but for whatever reason all the players were flat in that second half. There was an opportunity for all these fellows to nail down a position on the team for the next Down game and a lot of them didn't put their hand up to be honest. It falls back on them, not on anyone else.

“We have been running on form very much so in terms of who has been putting up their hand in games and training sessions, obviously looking for that bit of consistency, there's no point playing well today and tomorrow you are no good, so we really emphasised that. We have changed the team around, changed the 26 around and we are doing that on that kind of form and consistency and it is the fair way to do it. If you get 10 or 20 minutes you put it in and take the opportunity to showcase what you are about. It was disappointing but they have raised the bar from there and the Down game was much better.”

Speaking a couple of days before Offaly edged a titanic battle with Kerry in Tralee on Saturday, Fennelly was happy that their fate was in their own hands.

“Yes, we're not depending on anyone else to win or lose game for us. You don't want that situation in the last round so it is in our hands. It is going to be close this weekend but the Downs, Carlows, ourselves, they are all 50-50. Home and away is a big thing too in the Joe McDonagh and Antrim are probably ahead of the posse at the moment in terms of the form they are in and the scores they are drumming up, but we knew that coming into it. The likes of Oisin Kelly and Conor Molloy, has a three month rehab on a tendon injury and he is after hurting it again, and he would have been another player we would have been looking at for the half back line.

“With teams like ourselves you need everyone, you need a healthy panel, you need everyone driving everyone and pushing for that competitiveness. It has been good for the last few weeks and it just needs to keep going now.

“This whole thing could be over in 10 days, and that is the frightening thing in one way, that it is middle of May and you could be done with championship hurling, so you have to win and keep going and that will bring us to the end of May, start of June, please God, but there is a good bit of hurling to be done between now and then.”

He was honest when asked if he has seen much improvement in players individually?

“Some have. Players are not in form at times and it is normal, is is human, and you would hope they would find that form again. Other players have been up and down as well and it hasn't been as consistent as you would like it to be and that is the difficult thing from a management point where you are trying to pick a team and look at players in different positions and we had up to 12 injuries in the league campaign as well, which pushed our hand with certain things and we couldn't mix and match as much as we would like to prepare for the Joe Mc.

“ It has been challenging, there has been adversity and that is good for players. We learned a lot from the league, we learned from different set ups, what way to play and Jason Sampson alluded to it, we learned loads here and we can bring this next year and the year after and the year after and it is the truth. There is very little we haven't come across at this stage in most games, so that will stand to them in the long term. But I am still pushing, still driving, still hoping for another step up in these Offaly players. They are a good bunch and I wouldn't be here if they weren't. I get 100% from them and that is all I can ask for. You have to be lenient with them at times, when lads are in and out of form, you try and work with them and get them going again and definitely at the moment lads are finding better form which is encouraging.”

People have to be realisitic and Offaly are on a different planet to top counties?

“If you look at the numbers and the clubs and look at Tipperary for example and the catchment area they have, it is probably three times bigger than Offaly, so you have to weigh up all these things. Look at Cork at the moment, Cork are out of form, so it happens with players, it happen with teams, they are human and that's important. The club campaign now is very important for Offaly later on in the year, that that is a really healthy, strong club campaign, because if that is not up to a good level, lads are going to go back. If lads are carrying injury through a club campaign, that is going to carry over to inter county, then you have to go through a whole rehab phase again with those players. The pick is very small and you need everyone.

He agreed that it would be great to get back to the top tier and see where they are but he also urged caution – he was speaking before Westmeath's draw with Wexford last weekend.

“You see what is happening with Westmeath and Laois there now, they are looked on as being ahead of us at the moment, but they are taking hammerings, which is very difficult, not in all the games but in some of them, which is very difficult on those teams and those players, in terms of trying to create hype and momentum and encouragement for underage teams to see that.”

Offaly's performance in Antrim suggested that they might not be far away is they meet again and Fennelly concluded:

“Possibly. Every day has its own day, Injuries could come into play. I'm conscious of Antrim losing Molloy at half time and Neil McManus wasn't playing either, but we had two or three lads obviously not playing that day as well. We would be competitive if we do meet Antrim at a later stage but it's down the line at the moment.”