GAA: McCartan admits it was hard to say no to Down
Former boss returns for second spell with his home county
Last updated 26th Nov 2021
“A moment of madness!”
That was James McCartan’s response when asked about his reasons for returning to the role of Down Senior Football Manager as he met the media on Friday morning.
It was a joke of course.
But the Sam Maguire winner as a player in both 1991 and 1994 is well aware of the task in front of him as he takes the reins for the second time, having led the side to the All-Ireland Final in 2010 and an Ulster Final two years later.
He says he felt it was his duty to answer the call of his county once again.
“When you’re asked to help out your county, it’s always hard to say no,” McCartan admits.
“I’ve been involved with them at various levels over the years. Sometimes when they come and ask me to do something, I put my head in my hands and sink to my knees!" he laughed.
"But, I usually end up trying not to let them down in some manner – so we’re back to that again.”
McCartan came in to take over from Paddy Tally, who vacated the role after three years in July.
Armagh native Aidan O’Rourke arrives alongside ‘Wee James’, with the two having worked together for the Mournemen nine years ago.
“When you’re asked to help out your county, it’s always hard to say no,”
McCartan revealed that Tally – who has since taken up a role with the Kerry management team – had already been in contact.
“We’re not coming back to try and fail or to try and lose. We intend to come back and try to improve on things. Paddy was there for three years and three difficult years, due to the fact that Covid kicked in. He rang me yesterday to wish me well and we had a long conversation,” he said.
“He gave me all the information on where he feels the panel is and it was much appreciated. We’re trying to build on what was obviously a difficult time for him in regard to the Covid end of things.
“Whenever he was there, there were some great performances, even in defeat against the likes of Mayo a couple of years ago in Newry. Then there was a 10-point lead against Cavan, which didn’t work out in the end.
“So, we’ve shown in matches that we can compete and we’re going to have to try and build on that. To put that in perspective, looking at the make-up of Division 2, that’s going to be a challenge to try and stay there. But, whenever I was here before, you don’t make predictions of relegation or promotion – you get a couple of games played and see where you’re at.”
The search for the new man was a long and difficult one, with a huge number of names linked to the role.
It appeared as if former Donegal Manager Jim McGuinness was about to become a high-profile acquisition, but talks fell through at the last moment.
With Conor Laverty and Martin Clarke staying with their Down Ulster Under-20 winning side, the county turned to a man who is well respected not only amongst the red and black support, but across the game.
He now has the job of ensuring Down make the best of what they have at their disposal.
“First things first – it’s about tying to get a panel of players together,” he says.
“We don’t have the luxury of being able to run any trials because time is short. We’re starting from a static position so we’re going to have to try and short-circuit the trial season and go straight into trying to get some players together. We’ll have to pick an extended panel.
“We’ve last year’s panel, Under-20s who can step up and then you have players who maybe aren’t in either of those two positions, who are outside the panel and who you think might contribute.
“We’re going to have a big panel to start with. It’s no ideal and we’re well aware that a lot of other counties are well ahead of us in this regard. It’s going to be a challenge, but we just have to do our best.”
Arguably his biggest challenge is ensuring the best players within the county are actually playing FOR the county.
That’s not always been the case of late and McCartan readily admits it’s not a simple task to turn that tide.
“I would like to be able to turn round and say that everybody that should be available to you is available to you. But, in this day and age, people have their own commitments in their personal lives,” he concludes.
“Some want to go travelling and some just don’t want to give the commitment.
"It’s a huge commitment.”