NEW OFFALY BOSS John Maughan has confirmed his backroom team for the 2019 campaign.
Maughan will bring Edenderry man Kevin Guing and Crossmolina native Gerry O’Malley on board as his selectors. Ballyboden St Enda’s club man Mark Fee comes in as football coach, while former Cavan footballer Dermot Sheridan has been appointed as strength and conditioning coach.
“I was very happy with them,” said Maughan at the 2019 championship draw in RTÉ last night.
“Dermot Sheridan is a Sigerson Cup winner with DCU in 2010, Sigerson Cup winner with Sligo IT in 2005 atvnd involved in coaching in DCU for the last number of years. Played full-back for Cavan.
“Gerry O’Malley, he won an All-Ireland club with my hometown Crossmolina, he lives outside Ferbane for the last 14 years.”
O’Malley is married to the daughter of Offaly legend Sean Lowry, who won a Connacht medal alongside Maughan while playing with Mayo in 1985.
Maughan has been handed a difficult task in the Leinster SFC with Offaly drawn against Meath in the first round. The winners face Carlow in the quarter-final with Westmeath or Laois awaiting the winners in the last four.
Maughan admitted on the live coverage that he’s “a little bit scared” by the prospect of taking on the Royals, who brought Tyrone to extra-time in the qualifiers last summer.
But the Mayo native says he’s excited by the prospect of managing the Faithful as he becomes the first man to manage a senior county side in all four provinces.
“I don’t know, I suppose I had no intention of going back to be quite honest with you. The last number of years I’d been coaching young fellas in Castlebar for five or six years.
“I was with a junior club down the road from me for the last two years, my brother’s the chairman down there and I was giving a dig out. There’s just something about it, I have the energy for it.
“I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity and yeah, it tickled my fancy right now and family-wise, my kids are kind of scattered and yeah, just a fear of sitting in front of the TV every evening. It frightened me!”
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Just learn some Spanish Gareth and keep scoring goals , if you stay fair play to ya , and if you go your price will go back up
@Limón Madrugada: it may be that he knows alot but is embarrassed to speak it for whatever reason and so people think hes thick
@Norman Cult: no , he doesn’t understand basic conversation , it’s on video . And they weren’t Spanish natives speaking either so it’s slower , less tricky . He’s been there 6 years .. his kids must speak it ffs . Spanish isn’t difficult to learn the basics , McManaman spoke really good Spanish after less than 2 years. Eastern Europeans pick it up in weeks . Rakitic grew up in Germany , is Croatian , and speaks Spanish almost like a native .. The press conference seems to have gone really well , it makes you wonder why he doesn’t do more .
@Limón Madrugada: agreed. It’s farcical and plain rude.