Back in the hot seat
December 30, 2010Going by Cavan's managerial track-record over the past decade, some would consider the Breffni County hot seat as a poisoned chalice at this moment in time, but on the flipside Dubliner Val Andrews sees it as an opportunity to address some "unfinished business", as he puts it, left over from his previous stint from 1998-2001.
The then manager-selector combo of Andrews and Hyland still stands as the last to steer the Blues to an Ulster SFC final in the latter year and that September, at a meeting of the county board, Andrews lost the support of too many Cavan clubs to continue on at the helm. Since then - for one reason or another - Cavan football has suffered time and time again to find itself at, arguably, its lowest ebb and while there will be some that view this latest appointment as a literal step backwards, many true blues are optimistic for the future going by echoes around the county.
"There's unfinished business there and it wasn't the way to end a tenure," Andrews commented on his decision to return to the Cavan set-up. "In some ways I didn't realise the implications it would have on my selectors and when I got the chance to work with Terry again and with Cavan I wasn't going to let it go by."
In the days after the familiar duo's appointment, another well-known name began to emerge; one that had, apparently, been knocking on the door for a place in the Cavan management set-up for some time.
By the end of August, former Breffni County captain Stephen King was confirmed as a selector to help bolster the new management team ahead of the coming season.
A keen Andrews welcomed the Killeshandra man's appointment, stating: "Stephen King is a good man and obviously a Cavan icon because he was such a great player. He would know a lot about Cavan football and these are exciting times for him now getting involved with Cavan again for the first time since '97 and the great team under Martin McHugh."
Since the club championships conclusion in mid-October, the now trio have co-ordinated trial games to help scout the talent and since the closed season commenced on November 1 gym sessions have been the order for those players looking to make the cut for the McKenna Cup in January. While Andrews has regularly made the trip up the new M3 to attend numerous championship games and the early squad sessions ahead of next year, the onus to identify suitable players has largely been on Hyland and King given that they have always kept a close eye on the club scene in the county, which is there for everyone to see if you were to count up their combined appearances at Kingspan Breffni Park this past summer.
"Terry and Stephen have been looking at players, which is great because they both have good knowledge of the footballers in the county that we'd be working with," stated Andrews. "I wouldn't have the deep local grasp of affairs in Cavan that they have, but the way we're looking at it at the moment is that there would be between 50 to 70 eligible players to work with to make a squad.
"I have to say that the county board need to be commended for their work in getting a management appointed before the close of the club championships. I think it's hard for someone to come in at the start of the year without having looked at a few players in championship games and between myself, Terry and Stephen we've seen a good few players so far."
The begging question on most frustrated Breffni supporters' lips though at the moment is whether or not Cavan has the players to achieve silverware. In the days after Andrews and Hyland were confirmed as the successors to Tommy Carr, Hyland told local media that he believed that Cavan had the ingredients, stating: "The players are good enough, we have good footballers but sometimes good footballers just need something to believe in. I think mostly they need to believe in themselves. If we can get that into them, I think we'll get back on that ladder."
The Ballymun Kickhams clubman concurs and it's exactly where he will be looking to bring his "HOPE programme" into play to try and turn around the fortunes of this current Cavan crop.
"The HOPE programme starts with H, which stands for Hard work, O is for Opportunity, P is for Professionalism and E is for Energy, and that's really what we're looking to get through to the players," explained Andrews.
"You always try to set goals when you come in and the goals we'll been setting are performance goals. Nobody wins anything from Division Three and we really have to be looking at getting out of Division Three."
Going by his tone, promotion back to Division Two of the National Football League looks to be the priority for Andrews in his first year back, and if the right adjustments towards improvement can be made then Division Three could very well prove a happy hunting ground for Cavan, considering they weren't all that far off the promotion charge under Tommy Carr last season when all was said and done.
Nothing so coveted will come simple though, with a tricky opener in Tullamore on February 6 to be followed by another visit to midlands two weeks later against Westmeath in Mullingar. The Breffni men's first home game comes at the end of the month against a much-improved Waterford side, who achieved promotion to the third tier under the managership of John Owens.
"It's a great challenge," Andrews enthused.
"I don't care if games are home or away, it's good to start with Offaly away in Tullamore because it will be a hard test for us. Hopefully, we can get a good start, but we'll be taking each game as it comes in the league."
A good start is often half the battle for a capable team and the new regime clearly believes that a leap to Division Two isn't unrealistic for Cavan in 2011.
As for the summer's championship a way in the distance, Andrews knows that there will be no easy assignments there either. An opening encounter in the Ulster SFC with either Donegal or Antrim doesn't have as quite a daunting ring to as Tyrone or Down, particularly when you consider Cavan will be at home for the game, but between senior and Under 21 level both counties have held the upper hand over Cavan in recent years, and Andrews isn't naïve to the fact that it would be a firm upset if the hosts at Kingspan Breffni Park were to record victory next June.
"They're all good counties in Ulster, so Cavan are always going to have it tough no matter who they meet first," Andrews put it simply.
"The bottom line is that Cavan football will improve if we're honest and work hard. Attitude is everything. If you haven't got attitude, you have nothing.
"At the moment it's between us and Fermanagh as the eight or ninth lowest ranked team in Ulster. We're the only Ulster team in Division Three and Fermanagh are in Division Four, so the only way we can look is up."
Positive thinking indeed. The coming months should be interesting, if not intriguing, as the former supremo looks to be part of a team to help steer the Breffni County back to the place where he last left them as somewhat of a force to be reckoned with.
The first hurdle for the Blues comes in early January, when the Dr McKenna Cup throws in and Andrews and co will have to pit their wits against Cavan's old provincial rivals and the unpredictable college sides. While they will be minus the services of their own college contingent, Andrews has already pledged that they will be fielding their strongest team in the competition - a trend that wasn't adopted by his predecessor Tommy Carr, who chose to experiment with his squad in the opening weeks of this year.
"The objective is to play the best team we have on the field," said Andrews. "Obviously at the start of the year we won't have the college players, but we will be looking to field what we think are the strongest players in each game, whether it's in the McKenna Cup or the championship."
Tweet
