Messages

Tough result to take in Saturday  Night. Relegation should not be an issue from this Division. Promotion is still possible  all teams will drop points especially with so many derby games in Leinster.

Paddy and his team have a massive job on their hands let's give him the time to get it right. And support the players to get the work under their belt and learn the skills that are needed to compete at this level.

The players that are not available for one reason or another can not just be replaced it will take significant game time to get these young guys up to the standard they need to be at to compete.
Players who played league or championship last year that are currently  unavailable to the county.
Gerard McGovern
Niall McParland
Anthony Doherty
Peter Turkey
Shay Millar
Ronan Millar
Daragh O'Hanlon
Aaron Morgan.
Men with a significant amount of experience and power and many hours of league and champiounship hours under their belt.
If we get K McKernan, D O'Hagan RJ and Harrison back in the starting 15 for Sligo I'd be  confident we can get the Result.

With a glance over the past 25 years of appointing a Senior Team management its fairly grim reading so  should we set our expectations very low. NO!  Lets Get it Right

It would seem that the primary criteria for any candidate to take on the senior management role would be
1. that you have played for Down.
2. that you hold an All Ireland Medal.

There is no doubt to the passion and commitment that these men have brought the position. Unfortunately all have been lacking in one or two of the key skills need  do this job.
Skills like Man Management, Knowledge of the modern game, Tactical Astuteness, a comprehensive understanding of other inter-county systems of play other desirable traits Successful experience in Club Management in Down or elsewhere and experience in another Successful Senior County Management setup.

(Wee James was probable the only one to realise he didn't possess all the Knowledge and Skills and hence brought Brian McIvor in as his right hand man, many players from the 2010 team have been vocal about his experience and influence in 2010)

To Manage an Inter county Team is without doubt a very challenging Job in current times. I would put it somewhere on a par with running a small business. Would any one in their right mind appoint someone to run the business who jus worked there for a few years and had one or two years every so often?

For Me Criteria needed for this position.
1 Strong Man Management Skills
2 Strong Coaching pedigree.
3 A Proven track record at Club Level ( 10 Years experience Plus at least 2 County Championships)
4 3+ Years of Management at Senior County Level

Hopefully we can get some one in place who can stabilise us and move us back to Div 2.