Who would be a manager? One of the arguments used to keep payment to managers off the Croke Park agenda is to wonder what might happen to the players if official remuneration to their masters was sanctioned. And it is a very reasonable question. But when I read that some players felt they worked every bit as hard as the manager and should be considered in the same breath I nearly fell off my seat. As somebody with experience of both positions allow me to nail this one down. There is simply no comparison between the time workload facing managers compared to the time players put in. Trying to make an argument out of this is just plain silly. Players are generally interested in a few key aspects: Am I fit? Am I playing well? Is the team going okay? It is an almost selfish approach but that is the type of focus top players need. The manager has at least 30 guys to look after and is expected to bring all the other threads together - the coaching, the training, the match schedule, the medical team, the kit issue and about 100 other matters that can arise in any given week. Why would anybody want these positions, especially if they attract only standard expenses? The answer to that question explains the fascination many have for this great game of ours. After playing, it is the next great high and if you are lucky enough to be associated with a winning team the experiences are fantastic. To bring a major title to a club team or a county team is the ultimate and the secret is of course that success is measured at different levels. A once famous club can be down on its luck and see a county title as a day of serious celebration. A traditional power on the inter-county scene is outside the winners enclosure and will see an underage All-Ireland as hope for the future. And on it goes. To judge by the attrition rate this season alone, the manager's job is getting more difficult with each passing year. The story of Mickey Moran in Mayo is a case in point. Despite a very decent League run (semi-final), a provincial championship against the odds and an All-Ireland final appearance out of the blue, he parted ways with the Connacht winners. Different expectations, as I imagine Wicklow will be extremely pleased if they could win a Leinster! I wrote some time ago about the demands on time the modern manager faces these days and the results surprised many, myself included. The time audit was in the context of a vacant managers seat in Mayo and the mathematics any sane applicant might apply to the task at hand. The bones of that audit are reproduced below and I imagine it put an end to many of those thinking they might fancy the job without sitting down seriously to analyse the requirement. A basic question might be where do I live in relation to the job I am applying for? You might well be looking at very long road trips indeed. Your present work position, your family and the possibility of young children will come into the equation. You will need to consider the squad available, your relationship with them and the officers of the board. How do you dovetail with the media and supporters? All okay so far? One of the biggest problems is getting the management team you want to commit to your crusade. Medical and logistical back up are as important these days as the coach and the trainer. And then you wonder if the county can afford your plan. Is the budget available or will the skimping begin mid season when the need is greatest? Is there room for a training camp, a few weekends away, or a weekend in the county itself? In the area of the media and the time required for them consider the situation in Mayo: there are close to 20 media outlets that need to be serviced during a football season. Local papers (3), local radio stations (3), national papers (9) and radio stations (3), TV stations (3), GAA magazines and the freelancers that want a piece of the action too. Give each an average of 30 minutes (and it is nearly always more than that) and you have just completed a full working day. Naturally, they do not all end up ringing the same week but the bottom line remains - a full working day is needed to properly attend to the requirements. Average it out at 4 hours per week over the year. Now, throw in time spent on the telephone, on the road driving, on the pitch training and at games and I came up with the following workload and man-hours. Training (3 sessions per week) 6 hours Match (1 per week) 5 hours Telephone (Players and Selectors) 4 hours Media /Misc 4 hours Driving (Trg and match) 12 hours Homework (Tactics and Prep of Sessions)8 hours It comes as close as makes no difference to a 40 hour week and you will note I have left matters such as scouting own and opposition players and teams, challenge games, launches, receptions and functions out of this particular analysis. One might also include visits to problem players, injured players, county officials and so on but we will keep it simple for now. You are looking at secondment or a career break if you are not in the teaching profession. Otherwise your bread and butter job must suffer because of the time commitment associated with managing a senior football team. On top of the time factor itself, there are other add-ons. Like pressure and expectation. Take Mayo again. Only an All-Ireland winning performance will guarantee you your job and after the pressure associated with such a feat would you want it again? Even club teams have expectations, sometimes not in keeping with reality. How often do you hear the chairman talk of a season of consolidation until the team gets more experience, stronger and used to the new level of football? Not often indeed. Just get in a new manager and put the winning of the county final down on the board as the objective. Easy as pie! The landscape at senior club today is unrecognisable to that of ten years ago. There are generally better facilities, better structures and the popularity of the club championships at provincial and national level has raised the bar considerably. Trying to cope with the expectation levels of individual players is not easy. With all the meetings, medicals tests and psychological briefings I often wonder where the teams find time to a bit of training. The idea that we might tog out and do a bit of skill work rarely crosses the mind - if it isn't something you can measure the interest seems to drop. Ah, nothing else for it then but more of the bleep tests. You should end up with the biggest, fastest and strongest squad in Ireland. Problem is few can shoot a point, even with a rifle! Tweet

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