Cooney calls on fans to ‘get out and support' footballers

This week, newly-appointed Westmeath senior football manager, Jack Cooney, concludes his interview with Gerry Buckley.

 

Sadly, despite two laudable consecutive Leinster final appearances in 2015 and 2016 (and the infamous Meath ‘hoodoo’ banished forever en route to the first decider), Westmeath have not been serious contenders for the Sam Maguire Cup since the heady days of the late great Páidí Ó Sé.

However, one county which consistently has been is Donegal, and Jack Cooney’s well-documented involvement with the north-western powerhouse enables him to bring vast experience to the top job in Lake County football.

Jack recalls: “I was happy to finish my playing days with my club (Coralstown/Kinnegad). I had a young family and was building a house when a call came from (Donegal manager) Rory Gallagher. I spent two seasons up there, and while it is a long drive, the travelling wasn’t difficult being honest as my wife Elaine is from Kilcar. Once you make a commitment you just get on with it. 

“I have also helped out with Celbridge and Rhode, as well as dipping in and out with a few other teams such as the Westmeath ladies alongside Martin Flanagan. That was a great experience, and our ladies are continuing to make great progress, this year even beating Kerry in Kerry.”

Has it always been his ambition to manage the Westmeath senior team? Jack responds: “I have invested a lot into Westmeath football and I guess it has. I gave everything as a selector and I have the same mindset now.  I am looking forward to getting a panel of players together and working with them in the run-in to Christmas, and to drive things on. 

“Westmeath has always produced good players. There has always been natural talent in Westmeath. There are experienced players there already and I would like to see some younger ones investing a bit into the future of Westmeath football.”

Does the lack of underage success since the wonderful Leinster minor/U21 double in 2000 concern the new bainisteoir? “Westmeath were arguably the pioneers in underage development in the early 1990s. There is definitely talent and ability in young Westmeath footballers, but a player who stands out in terms of ability - that is only part of the jigsaw. I hope to create an environment which players want to be part of. Then, where that takes us, we don’t know,” Jack opines.

He has already recruited three respected midlands figures to his backroom team – Offaly’s Paschal Kellaghan (“a very experienced and qualified coach”), 1999 All-Ireland U21 final hero, Cathal Mullin (“he had a very successful career with Garrycastle and will be our goalkeeping coach”), and Joe Nangle (“he will look after strength and conditioning”). “There are a few other people to add on over the next few weeks. The ‘guy with the bottle of water’ still has a big role to play, but the game is evolving so much huge with an emphasis on coaching, nutrition, strength and conditioning - football is being played in a different way from bygone days,” he reflects.

However, Jack is reluctant to totally concur with the modern mantra that top footballers have to ‘put their lives on hold’, stating: “Sometimes, maybe the level of commitment is over-exaggerated. Fellows develop their own good habits. Lads playing at inter-county level know the ‘dos’ and the ‘don’ts’ and it becomes a lifestyle. It comes down to choice - if they commit, they want it 100 per cent. The younger players coming up are informed and they know what is required, and they are making those changes in their lives at a younger age. It is a good commitment and it is something to enjoy.”

This columnist laughed loudly at Jack’s reply when asked if his ‘tactics’ will include putting 15 men behind the ball – “Paschal and Cathal are coming in as well to play 17 behind the ball!” The new bainisteoir continues in a more serious vein: “Ulster football is a particular brand, but an awful lot of football is dictated by how the opposition set up. Football is evolving and you wouldn’t be doing your job right if you didn’t have a focus on a defensive system, and on an attacking system. A team has to be prepared for whatever the opposition is going to throw at them. You can’t just play the one style. 

“I am intrigued by the tactical element of the game, and every team has to have a focus on what they do without the ball.”

The general consensus is that the ‘buzz’ has gone out of Westmeath football since the heady days of Luke Dempsey and the aforementioned Páidí Ó Sé, with support dropping alarmingly of late. However, Jack is less pessimistic, stating: “Reaching two Leinster finals in-a-row was a great achievement. Momentum is a great thing and I would certainly be encouraging Westmeath people to get out and support the team, but the team has to deserve their support. We are all stakeholders in this, and we all have to take ownership of Westmeath football and invest in it. We are all responsible. I am really speaking from the heart when I say that TEG Cusack Park in the National League should be our 16th player. I hope supporters start coming out and getting behind the team. Westmeath people should not underestimate the impact they can make.”

And the ‘monster’ currently looming large over Leinster football in the shape of Dublin? Jack responds pragmatically: “Westmeath and Dublin is an unfair comparison. We have to be very realistic in our expectations, but very demanding in our standards. We need to measure ourselves on making progress and, eventually, we could just be one or two big performances away from doing something special. Let’s not start out today trying to win a Leinster. Let’s start by trying to create a very good environment to train in. Let us break it down into small steps. 

“There is only a handful of teams capable of winning ‘Sam’ every year, but I get the whole romanticism about winning an All-Ireland. Every child wants to climb those steps (in the Hogan Stand), but there is a massive disparity between the top and bottom. I have a fair idea of the players that are out there, and of the people involved in the clubs. I consider this to be a collective push. Myself and the lads on the team are just at the front end of it.”

Finally, in relation to the oft-criticised lack of training facilities in Westmeath, Jack Cooney is a rock of sense, opining: “Facilities and resources are very important but, as Jim Gavin has said, ‘to train all you need is a bag of balls, a bunch of cones, and the players’. 

“In Westmeath, I would rather a bunch of driven players because they will train anywhere.”