JOHN EVANS BELIEVES his Roscommon side can go all the way to the top — and win the All-Ireland title for the first time in more than 70 years.
A delighted Evans said that the Rossies are “exactly where we wanted to be” after they clinched the Division 2 title against Down on Sunday.
It was the icing on the cake following their promotion to Division 1 and sets them up perfectly for the Connacht championship where they will face Sligo in the semi-finals if they can overcome London on 24 May.
Asked about his vision for the team, Evans said that they want to be at the “the top.”
“I remember one time 25 years ago I walked out of a GAA meeting when a team, Knocknagoshel, they started going from [Division] Five to Four to Three, and they wanted to stay there.
I said, ‘I’m going to have no part of it unless we get to the top.’
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“The whole idea is to get to the top. It will take us a couple of years now.”
The top means bringing Sam Maguire back to Roscommon for the first time since 1944.
“Absolutely, absolutely,” Evans agreed.
“It’s a tough question. If we can stay in [Division 1] for three to four years, if we can stay there the first year, you can really believe me, now it’s consolidation.
Look lads, I’ve gone through every team. There are a lot of them and they will be losing a lot of star players over the next two, three, four years. We’ll be growing in stature.
Evans was appointed Roscommon boss in November 2012 and after missing out on promotion from Division 3 in his first season, he believes there was a change in mindset in the county.
“[Roscommon selector] Gay Sheerin visited my house two years ago and they are bang on where I wanted to be. Now, you might say that is far fetched, but it is not. It is exactly where we wanted to be.
“I was a year into the job. We had lost out — we had nine points and I think 10 got promoted — and then I said, ‘Look lads we are hanging around.’
“We actually changed an awful lot of stuff in the first year. We moved to Athlone and Mullingar for training. We brought in Joe Sweeney, a proper goalkeeping coach, Gary Sweeney, a defensive coach, and Liam Kearns as a forward coach, and the goal came off that type of play.”
He added: “It’s smashing. It’s wonderful because Roscommon have been starved of success. It’s brilliant to see a smile on their face.
The biggest problem we’ll have is trying to calm them down a small but and say one step at a time. It’s how we cope with this now. This is the big question.
“How do we cope with winning two successive finals in Croke Park, silverware? If it takes the edge off us, then it’s no good to us.
“Ah look, let’s beat London, get over and win London, take one game at a time.”
The Roscommon boss is targeting the biggest prize of all following their Division 2 win
JOHN EVANS BELIEVES his Roscommon side can go all the way to the top — and win the All-Ireland title for the first time in more than 70 years.
A delighted Evans said that the Rossies are “exactly where we wanted to be” after they clinched the Division 2 title against Down on Sunday.
It was the icing on the cake following their promotion to Division 1 and sets them up perfectly for the Connacht championship where they will face Sligo in the semi-finals if they can overcome London on 24 May.
Asked about his vision for the team, Evans said that they want to be at the “the top.”
“I remember one time 25 years ago I walked out of a GAA meeting when a team, Knocknagoshel, they started going from [Division] Five to Four to Three, and they wanted to stay there.
“The whole idea is to get to the top. It will take us a couple of years now.”
The top means bringing Sam Maguire back to Roscommon for the first time since 1944.
“Absolutely, absolutely,” Evans agreed.
“It’s a tough question. If we can stay in [Division 1] for three to four years, if we can stay there the first year, you can really believe me, now it’s consolidation.
Evans was appointed Roscommon boss in November 2012 and after missing out on promotion from Division 3 in his first season, he believes there was a change in mindset in the county.
“[Roscommon selector] Gay Sheerin visited my house two years ago and they are bang on where I wanted to be. Now, you might say that is far fetched, but it is not. It is exactly where we wanted to be.
“I was a year into the job. We had lost out — we had nine points and I think 10 got promoted — and then I said, ‘Look lads we are hanging around.’
“We actually changed an awful lot of stuff in the first year. We moved to Athlone and Mullingar for training. We brought in Joe Sweeney, a proper goalkeeping coach, Gary Sweeney, a defensive coach, and Liam Kearns as a forward coach, and the goal came off that type of play.”
He added: “It’s smashing. It’s wonderful because Roscommon have been starved of success. It’s brilliant to see a smile on their face.
“How do we cope with winning two successive finals in Croke Park, silverware? If it takes the edge off us, then it’s no good to us.
“Ah look, let’s beat London, get over and win London, take one game at a time.”
6 talking points after another great league day for Dublin while Cork suffer setback
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comp:Allianz Football League Division 1 (Gaelic Football 42) Grand Ambitions John Evans Down Roscommon