Eamonn McEneaney is back in his second term as Monaghan manager and he explains to Eunan Whyte that he was always keen to return to the hot seat in his native county.

When the Monaghan County Board sat down to select a manger to succeed Seamus McEnaney at the end of the season, their criteria would have been relatively straightforward.
After six relatively successful years when Monaghan were able to compete with, and on many occasions, beat the best, finding a replacement for 'Banty' was a very important step as they sought the best candidate to bring the team to a new level.
Like most counties, they would have been looking for a man with a great knowledge of the game, a man with a successful track record, a man with experience and, a man with a passion for the county.
Step forward Eamonn McEneaney, who not only met all the requirements, but add in a very successful playing career at inter-county level and it's little surprise that the Monaghan hierarchy had no hesitation in offering the Blayney man the post at the beginning of October.
At the outset, this looks like a marriage made in Heaven, as the County Board have the man they wanted to carry on the fine work of Seamus McEnaney over the past six years, while Eamonn makes it clear that he is back very much where he belongs.
McEneaney previously managed the Farney side in a joint capacity with former GAA president Sean McCague in the late 1990s and since then he has been highly sought after on the managerial circuit, where he believes he has learned much over the years.
With a wealth of inter-county and club experience under his belt, the Dundalk-based man believes he is better equipped as a manager than he was in his first spell with the Farney men. His aim for his second stint is to use that knowledge to build on strong foundations and see Monaghan end their long wait for silverware.
"When I was with Monaghan 12 years ago, I was relatively young as a manager and in fact I was still playing football at the time. Ever since then it has always been my wish to come back and use what knowledge I have gained in county and club football for the benefit of my own county.
"There have been a few times over the last five or six years that I would have liked to have a go at it, but with Seamus there it just wasn't an option. However, when the opportunity did arise this year I decided to go for it as I felt it was a case of now or never," he explained.
Eamonn's desire to get the role was illustrated by the fact that he was the first to declare his interest and was immediately among the favourites for the post. Despite this, he wasn't going to take anything for granted.
"It is nice to be acknowledged as one of the front-runners but you just never know in football. However, I was delighted to be offered the position and I consider it a great honour to be manager of the Monaghan footballers.
"I just can't wait to get going again as I just love being involved at this level. For me it is like a bug and I have a great hunger for doing the job - it really is part of me and I have no hunger or desire for anything else in sport."
After four years at the helm with Louth between 2006 and 2009, Eamonn was recently in charge of Down outfit, Mayobridge, and along the way he has enjoyed his fair share of success. With the Wee County Emaonn won a National League Division 2 league title and the O'Byrne Cup. In 2006 he led Louth to victory in the Tommy Murphy Cup Final at Croke Park in a campaign that also saw the defeat Monaghan along the way. He also brought the Leinster side to the last 12 of the All-Ireland Championship where their run was halted by Cork.
It is an impressive track record, but not surprisingly, it would mean a lot more to him to enjoy the glory days with his native county as the Farney men bid to end their run of 22 years without an Ulster Championship title.
"I am very excited about being back in Monaghan as this really means a lot to me. I played with the county for 14 years and had a lot of success in those times and those days were the best of my sporting life.
"I really would love to make that happen again as a manager. We have been knocking on the door for the last number of years and a lot of players have put in a great effort so I'm sure they are anxious to end their careers with a bit of silverware."
For Eamonn and his backroom team of former players, Stephen McGinnity and Declan Smyth, as his selectors, along with Colin O'Hare as his trainer, the return to Monaghan presents a big challenge, but also the potential to achieve much.
"People talk about pressure in coming back, but the reality is that there is pressure in every job and every county expects that a new manager will improve on the last. It really doesn't matter what county that is but I don't think there is any more pressure here than in any other job.
"I think the big difference this time is that the players have a lot more experience than the group I had in the 1990s. Although the team is quite young with a number of them on the U21 panel, there are many who played in an All-Ireland Vocational Schools Final. We got to three finals in a row, winning one, so that proves that these lads can compete at a high level so that is the big difference this time.
"There is no doubt that they are a great bunch of lads and already we have seen that there is new talent available. Our challenge now is to reinvigorate the efforts of the past couple of years and carry on all the good things, while at the same time bringing in our own fresh approach to try to improve the team. Our set-up will be very professional and we promise to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure the team is the best it can be," stated the new manager.
Not surprisingly Eamonn can't wait until after Christmas when he can get down to some serious work.
"It is a bit frustrating this time of year in that we can't have any collective training, but there is still plenty to be done to be ready for January. Unfortunately we don't have much time to prepare as a squad as we are straight into the McKenna Cup, but that will give us a chance to get ready for the real business which will start with the National League," he continued.
Like Eamonn, all Monaghan GAA supporters are looking forward to the 2011 season and if everyone involved can match the passion and enthusiasm of the manager, then there is every reason to be optimistic. Tweet

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