After having only one senior football team manager for 23 seasons, Meath will have three different bosses in four years following the appointment of Eamonn O'Brien at the end of the long drawn-out process of finding Colm Coyle's successor. The new Royal county coach is the second member of the O'Brien clan from Johnstown to hold the position with older brother Michael at the helm in the '70s. The youngest of six brothers, all of whom served the Walterstown club with distinction, enjoyed a very successful playing career. Eamonn's first significant success came in 1968 when captaining Johnstown to an Under 14 FC triumph with a final victory over Kilcloon at Pairc Tailteann. Although playing at centre back, he was far enough forward to crack in the late winning goal in the 1-5 to 1-4 victory, having earlier put over two points. Three years later Walterstown (with the assistance of a few Seneschalstown players) captured the MFC title with a resounding 6-12 to 0-2 victory and Eamonn O'Brien was at centrefield on the side captained by Pat Burke. O'Brien was on the county minor side in 1971 and that year he was on the Blacks team which won the Feis Cup with a final victory over Colmcille Gaels, brother Ollie being the winning captain. Eamonn was a winning captain again in 1972 when Meath won the Leinster MFC title with a final victory over Dublin. Filling the centre forward position, provincial honours were gained in the grade for only the second time with a 3-8 to 1-11 victory over Dublin before a Frank McGuigan-inspired Tyrone side, which included a youngster called Mickey Harte in attack, dashed hopes of All-Ireland glory. Fast forward to 1975 to find Eamonn O'Brien at right half forward on the Meath team which captured National League honours with a thrilling 0-16 to 1-9 final victory over the then all-Ireland champions Dublin. Ollie was in the left corner forward berth while Mick was the victorious coach. While Eamonn's inter-county career seemed to fizzle out after 1975, he enjoyed remarkable success with the great Walterstown team which won five Meath SFC titles as well as two Leinster club championships between 1978 and '84. The 1978 triumph was extra special for the Blacks as they annexed the Keegan Cup for the first time with a 0-7 to 0-6 victory over Summerhill who were seeking a fifth title triumph in succession. Further county triumphs followed in 1980 when surprise packets Syddan were comfortably overcome in the final and a three-in-a-row from 1982 to '84 when Summerhill, Navan O'Mahonys and Skryne were the beaten finalists. Eamonn O'Brien was the winning captain in 1982 when remarkably Walterstown played 12 championship games, including extra-time in a play-off against Nobber, before getting their hands on the Keegan Cup. Walterstown won their Leinster titles in the 1980-81 and 1983-84 championships with Eire Og of Carlow and Walsh Island from Offaly defeated in the finals, both played in Newbridge. The Blacks went on to contest the All-Ireland final after both provincial successes but they lost out to Cork sides St Finbarr's and Nemo Rangers. No Meath side has won out in the Leinster club senior football championship since Walterstown's victory in December 1983. Eamonn O'Brien continued to wear the black jersey up to 1991 when he played against Gaeil Colmcille in the SFC final when the title went back to Kells. After a very successful playing career, Eamonn has gone on to be part of some notable triumphs in his role along the sidelines. After becoming a Meath selector in the autumn of 1995 he tasted All-Ireland glory in his first term as Sean Boylan guided a new-look side to a surprise triumph. O'Brien was also one of the selectors for the most recent All-Ireland success in 1999 and when was still there when Galway dashed the hopes of another title in 2001. After remaining as one of Boylan's assistants until 2003, he took a break from inter-county involvement. However, Eamonn further enhanced his CV after taking the position as Rathkenny manager for 2006 when the IFC title was annexed against all the odds. The men in red and black had been among the outsiders but they finished strongly with wins over Castletown and Drumconrath enabled them to celebrate with the Mattie McDonnell Cup. After reaching the quarter-finals of the SFC at the first attempt, Rathkenny survived in the top grade this year with a relegation play-off win over Kilmainhamwood but they will have to find a new manager for 2009. Before joining Meath's backroom set-up towards the end of 1995, Eamonn O'Brien had little experience along the sidelines. "Apart from underage teams in Walterstown, I had not been involved as a coach or selector before that, I was still playing up to 1994," he said. Meath's new manager obviously learned plenty during his long stint with Sean Boylan with two All-Irelands and three Leinster titles being won as well as reaching the National League final in 2000 when losing out to Derry in a replay. "As well as being a great manager, Sean is a great manager of players. He has a great rapport with players, he players believe in themselves and feel they are seven foot tall, in order to get success you have to believe you're good enough," said O'Brien. "Sean won All-Irelands with two different teams, he has to be up there with great Gaelic football managers like Mick O'Dwyer and Mickey Harte and I can I can put what I learned from him to effective use in the coming months," he added. The Navan resident was one of the fancied 'runners' after Colm Coyle stepped down in mid-July. O'Brien was not unfazed by the long delay in appointing the new manager and was so interested in filling the position that he stayed in the race after the initial 'chase' was declared void. "I have been interested in the position for a while and it is a privilege to be asked to manage the team.," remarked Eamonn who, soon after getting the post, was getting his selectors Donal Curtis and Robbie O'Malley together and looking forward to seeing various players in trials. "Despite the disappointing defeats this year, it has to be remembered that Meath got to the All-Ireland semi-finals last year and beat Tyrone in the quarter-final clash. While I have seen a lot of players from senior clubs over the last years as well as some intermediate teams, I don't see the need for drastic changes to the panel. "Meath were close to the top last year and while they slipped back a good bit this year, we will have to try to get them back up. We want to be up there with counties like Tyrone, Kerry, Dublin and Cork and stay there," said the new Royal county boss. While many supporters are already looking forward to the Leinster clash with Dublin, there are matters like the O'Byrne Cup and the National League to be attended to before that. Like a number of other county managers, Eamonn O'Brien is likely to be frustrated by having some played tied to college teams for the O'Byrne Cup. "You could do without such players if you had a settled team but it can be a bit of a drawback when you are trying to get a team together for the league when lads you'd like to try out are not available," he remarked. Despite missing out on promotion to the top flight of the NFL last spring, Meath are still in what should be a very competitive Division 2. "There will be no easy games there. There are two of this year's All-Ireland semi-finalists, Cork and Wexford, as well as other strong sides like Armagh, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Kildare and Laois. It will be difficult to finish in the top two but we will have to get ready and give it a really good try," said O'Brien. What are Eamonn O'Brien's main aims for 2009? "I will be going out to win every competition we take part in and I will be trying to get the team to compete with the best sides. When the work is put in, the possibilities will open up. "Come 2009 it will be eight years since we won a Leinster title. With so much success since 1986, supporters have big expectations every year. If the effort is put in, the hard work will be rewarded. "For many years Meath supporters were spoiled with success and it would be nice to spoil them again. There are enough good players around for Meath to be a big force again. I wouldn't have taken the job if I thought they are not there,'' he replied. The new manager does not worry about the one year stipulation. "No, that doesn't bother me, I think it's good to have a review every year, I would be reviewed anyway. I believe in doing the best I can in anything I attempt and will certainly give it 100 per cent," concluded Eamonn. Eamonn O'Brien will obviously be aimin' high in 2009 and as he approaches the task in hand in a positive mood, let's hope he can get Meath football back up the ladder. Tweet

Most Read Stories