The much decorated Eamon Coleman has begun his odyssey to hopefully great things with Cavan. Kevin Carney gets the views of the Derryman on the Breffni scene. When Eamon Coleman was apppointed in mid-September last as the man to succeed Mattie Kerrigan as Cavan senior football team-manager, there ended the worst kept secret in national GAA circles. The outgoing Gowna boss had been widely tipped to step into the Breffni hot-seat with his pedigree and his seasoned knowledge of the local football scene making him a shoe-in for the post in most people's eyes. To nobody's surprise, the managerial veteran was afforded a three-year time span by George Cartwright and co. to revive the county's flagging fortunes. Very quickly after settling into the post, the Derryman suggested that it would probably take all of those three years to hoist Cavan back in among the elite of the country. He pointedly warned Cavan's fans not to expect too much too soon. "Cavan fans are no different to most other sets of supporters in that they want success for their team as soon as possible and I understand that. "I know the Cavan supporters are dying for some success but they will have to be patient," Coleman told the Breffni Blue. The former Derry supremo has expressed himself to be optimistic, nonetheless, of achieving everything spelt out on the Cavan County Board's wish list. "I want what the whole of Cavan wants and that is make progress and eventually win things," the new team-manager re-iterated. "But make no mistake about it, it's going to be a long, tough road before success is achieved in Ulster," added the man who has recruited outgoing selector Mickey Reilly (Redhills), Paddy McNamee (Ramor United) and Mark Lawlor (Belturbet) to assist him during his term as team-manager. As to the calibre of opposition which he has to try and help Cavan overcome, the Derryman is under no illusions as to the size of the mountain that has to be climbed. So he understands why so many pundits believe that there is a bit of a gap between the Armagh and Tyrones of this world and the chasing pack in Ulster? "There's a gap between the Armagh and Tyrones and the rest of Ireland but we have 18 months or so to make up some of that ground," he replied. The outspoken Coleman promises to bring something fresh, something new to Cavan football during his tenure. According to Martin McElkennon, the man Coleman brought on board as the new Cavan team-trainer, the Ballymaguigan clubman is just the man to put some fire into the bellies of the blues. "He (Coleman) has a great way with players and is a superb motivator and knows Cavan football very well." The McElkennon/Coleman relationship is very much one with mutual respect and appreciation at its core. "I wouldn't have taken the Cavan job without Martin alongside," says the man who guided his native Derry to the All-Ireland SFC title in 1993, exactly ten years after guiding the Derry minors to the All-Ireland MFC title. It's obvious that the former All-Ireland MFC medallist (1965) is well-respected by Cavan folk for what he has achieved in Gaelic football. Even after all the furrows he has ploughed, he proved while with Gowna that he can still cut it along the sideline. One wonders, after all these years though, has he still the same degree of enthusiasm as ever for the game? "I wouldn't have accepted the job if I hadn't still the same hunger. "I'd been out of county team management for 18 months before linking up with Cavan so the batteries were well recharged." Indeed, he was the personification of vitality when 'running' the line during Cavan's 2004 McKenna Cup campaign. It was a campaign which, while no doubt enlightening, fell a tad short of being wholly successful. Victories over Queens University and Fermanagh (both at Kingscourt) were followed by a 1-7 to 0-14 defeat in Ballyshannon to Donegal on January 18th. Nevertheless, the Cavan boss expressed his delight at being able to run the rule over his charges in general while giving an array of inter-county rookies a series of trial runs against credible opponents. "The competition benefited a lot from having the college teams in it this year. "The opposition we received was top class and the new, younger fellas will have come on a lot from their experience playing all three teams. "The lads worked hard at training during the McKenna Cup run even though we had only done three outdoor sessions by that stage with most of the work being done in the gym. "I think Donegal's fitness made a difference on the day and they looked that bit fresher having just come back from their holiday in the Canaries. "They had thirteen of the guys on duty against us that were part of the squad that reached the All-Ireland semi-final last year and that kind of experience told too. "But our run-outs in the McKenna Cup gave us a fair idea of what work has to be done with the players in the run-up to the start of the national league." Interestingly, while the Cavan boss is wont to point out the positives about Cavan football he, like his assistant McElkennon, is only too well aware that certain shortcomings in the squad's modus operandi have to be addressed. McElkennon has gone on the record as saying that Cavan teams of recent vintage have been giving away too many scores. "We gave away too many handy frees against Donegal and you can't be fouling fellas close-in when you're up against the calibre of teams like Donegal. "But we'll be working hard to cut that fault out of the team's play before the summer comes around. "On the other side of the coin, we we were happy that in the three McKenna Cup games, we didn't concede a single goal which hasn't always been the Cavan way. "Cavan haven't had too much difficulty in getting through for the scores over the years but at the other end, there have been problems." Looking ahead to Cavan's prospects for a good run in this year's national league, Coleman has a clear objective in his mind. "I'd like to see us qualify for the semi-final. Winning it out would be a bonus," declared the man who steered Derry to back-to-back Ulster SFC victories over the Breffni Blues in 2001/2002. Any particularly difficult league matches in the pipeline? "They'll all be difficult, Sligo, Limerick, and the rest of them but we'll be at least hoping to win our home matches." And his feeling on the strength in depth apparent in Cavan football circles right now? "It's hard to say but there's definitely a lot of good, young talent in the county. "We've had great commitment from this year's under 21s and a few of them have showed up really well so far. "But, at the end of the day, it depends on how much work these fellas want to put in. "From what I've heard about Cavan minor and under 21 teams over the last few years though, there seems to be a lot of players around who have shown that they can mix it with the best there is around. "Maybe its a case of us as a management team working to put the necessary self-belief into these fellas," explained the current Cavan supremo who achieved national status within the GAA by steering Derry to an All-Ireland SFC title plus an Ulster SFC title and four national league crowns. Whatever about Coleman's ability to emulate his c.v. while with the Oak Leafers, the question of what might be achieved in the short-term is an intriguing one. What would the man himself be happy with at the end of 2004? "A semi-final place in the league and getting to the Ulster final is what I'd settle for." One suggests the vast majority of Cavan fans would be happy with that too - at least for starters. Tweet

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