Ballymachugh will be rebuilding during the forthcoming season. Selector and club stalwart Sean Briody is confident that the club can thrive in the face of adversity by enticing a number of players back into the fold... With many players unavailable for a variety of reasons, Ballymachugh always had their work cut out in 2002. Not surprisingly, they failed to make a major impression. But, encouragingly, they still comfortably retained their senior status and have every reason to look forward to the coming season with confidence anew. They'll be up against it once more, though, and will have to use appropriate guile and cunning to cope with the demands of another season without their full complement. But where there's a will there's a way! And neither the spirit nor the flesh have ever been found wanting among the good Gaels of Ballymachugh. New selector Sean Briody reveals: "We're all thoroughly looking forward to the new year and the challenges it presents. We're starting with a clean slate and we're inviting everyone into the fold, including any players who may have fallen by the wayside for one reason or another over the years. This is a fresh start for everybody. "At the end of the day, it's an enjoyable game to play and we're here providing the young lads of the parish with that opportunity. Hopefully, we can entice most of them back, because there's no shortage of quality footballers in Ballymachugh and never has been. We know a number of key players will be missing again this year, and that provides a window of opportunity to some of the other players. Who knows, it could prove a blessing in disguise..." Ballymac' have brought in former Mullahoran manager Ciaran Reilly as first team boss and have appointed two 'in-house' selectors to assist the Arva man in his preparations. These two insiders are Sean Briody and Gerard Gill, both of whom have played with the club with distinction and are well versed in the lie of the land when it comes to football matters in the general area. Sean boasts a tremendous knowledge of the game and of the local players in particular, having been a keen follower of Ballymachugh all his life. If anyone knows the ins and outs of gaelic football in the area, he does. Ger Gill, meanwhile, is equally knowledgeable. With the pair's inside knowledge coupled with Reilly's general expertise and professionalism, Ballymachugh will be in good hands for the 2003 campaign. Regarding his appointment to the senior think-tank, Sean notes: "A committee was put in place to select a management team to work alongside Ciaran. Myself and Gerard were nominated on the grounds that we have a good knowledge of the team and the players in the area. "To be honest, I was a little bit reluctant at first - but that didn't last long! Perhaps I was anxious that I wouldn't be up to the job but the more I thought about it the more I felt I should take it on. I know the ropes fairly well having played with them and also, having followed them closely down through the years, I'm quite familiar with all the players and their strengths. "Eventually, I came to the conclusion that it's a real honour to be asked to do this and I feel privileged to be brought in at such a high level. I'm going to give it my full attention and hopefully between the three of us and the players and with the full back-up of the committee we can come up with the right formula." Sean, who still plays a bit of junior football with the club, is too modest to claim that he knows Ballymachugh GAA inside-out ... but that's pretty much the reality of the situation! Few boast a better understanding of the vagaries of gaelic football in the area and the reputable car dealer is the man for the job. He adds: "I suppose it's fair to say that I know the ins and outs of it and I'm very familiar with the team and its personnel. I've seen these lads coming through the ranks, from minor and under 21 right through into the senior team, and I know exactly how talented a crop they are. Now it's a matter of putting the right structures in place to ensure that we get the very best out of them Sean knows a thing or two about what it takes to collect silverware. In 1981, he garnered an intermediate championship medal. The club has lost its winning touch of late, though. Apart from the intermediate championship success of 1999 (which followed a run to the previous year's U21 final), they've struggled to get their hands on trophies. A management meeting was held on Saturday February 1st 2003, however, at which plans were put in place to bring Ballymachugh forward in the coming years. How high have they set their sights? "It looks like we're going to have a problem with players again," forecasts Sean. "We have a lot of injuries and a lot of players are unavailable. Eleven of the '99 winning team were also on the under 21 team that got to the county final and they seem to have paid the price for playing too much football around that time. "There were a lot of games that year and a lot of draws (including the under 21 final) and most of them were also playing colleges football. That year took its toll and they've been picking up a lot of injuries since." To give an idea of the sort of injury/unavailability crisis facing Ballymachugh, Sean cites the case of the three Fitzsimons brothers, none of whom will feature this season: "Paul Fitzsimons who is a former Cavan under 21 is ill at the moment and has been ruled out. We wish him a speedy recovery he'll be an integral part of the team in the future. Brian is out through injury, while Richard a key forward is gone to Australia for a year." There are many others unavailable too, all of which leaves the new management team fighting an uphill battle. But the challenge is being met head-on: "There are others who have dropped out whom we're hoping to encourage back into the fold. But we are up against it. The panel we have inherited is small, so we have to coax back some of the lads who have drifted away. If we succeed in getting them back in we'll more than hold our own. Furthermore, if we got our full panel of players back and were at full strength again, we'd certainly be there or thereabouts." Every team needs a target. It's not enough to just go through the motions. What are Ballymachugh aiming for in '03? "It's probably too early to be setting any specific goals. We're just going to have to go out and give it our best shot. With a new management structure in place and hopefully a few lads returning, we'll just have to take it as it comes. "We're in the senior championship again and also in Division One, which is a step-up from last year. That will be a test, but one we can learn from. Some of the lads are very young, but they're hungry. We're going to be up against all the top teams in the county, but there's a great fighting spirit and determination in Ballymachugh, so we won't be found wanting. "We're not prepared to roll over and die just yet. Ballymachugh have never been found wanting in the past. We know there'll be teams stronger than us, but we'll hold our own." As it stands, Ballymachugh are very much an unknown quantity. Two-thousand-and-three will essentially be a voyage of self-discovery for all associated with the team. "I think that's what it will be," Sean concurs. "It'll be a matter of getting back to business and finding our feet again. With so many players missing, other lads are going to get a chance to stake a claim and prove themselves. In an ironic way, it could work in our favour. Sometimes you're better off with a small, close-knit panel and we could use that to our benefit." Ballymachugh's 2002 championship season was something of a hit-and-miss affair. In Section 3 of the SFC, they picked up three points from three outings, losing to Bailieboro, drawing with Killygarry and defeating Ramor. This left them tied in second place with the Killygarry men. A play-off was required to see who would advance to the championship quarter-finals. The losers would go into the relegation play-offs. As it turned out, Killygarry turned the tables and consigned Ballymac' to a battle in the 'loser's group'. They performed exceptionally well herein and retained their top-flight status effortlessly. "We regrouped very well from those defeats in the group stage and played much better towards the end of the season. We set our stall out and it went well for us. A new manager came in in a caretaker capacity for those relegation play-off matches and he did well and the players responded to the challenge admirably." Ballymachugh also advanced to the semi-final of the Division Two league before going down to eventual winners Denn. Thanks to a County Board restructure, however, they had already assured themselves of Division One status for the current year, by virtue of the fact that they're still senior. Sean is satisfied that there is a decent crop of young players filtering through the Ballymachugh production line, pointing out: "There's no shortage of young lads there at the moment and we'll begin to feel the benefits of that in a few years. "However, I feel that perhaps more people need to get involved in the underage set-up, especially parents, because it has tended to be left to the same few people every year. It would be nice if more parents showed a willingness to put a bit of effort into it, especially those who come from a GAA background." Away from the world of gaelic football, Sean Briody is well respected as one of the top car dealers in the area. He runs the eponymous Sean Briody Car Sales, in Ballyheelan, Killnaleck, specialist in all makes of new and second hand cars, as well as repairs and complete servicing - tuning, wheel alignment and exhaust replacement. Sean also checks and prepares cars for the NCT test. It's a different sort of test that faces Ballymachugh GAA right now ... but one they can pass with flying colours. Tweet

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