MONAGHAN MANAGER VINNY Corey said he will take a break for a few weeks and then carry out a full review with his management team to see if they will remain in charge of the Farney County for a third year.
A difficult season which saw them relegated from Division One for the first time in a decade came to an end when they went down by 0-14 to 0-11 to Galway at Pearse Stadium in Saturday’s All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.
Corey, who took over from Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney after serving as a selector with him for two seasons, was given a three-year term when he was appointed in September 2022 but he said it was always planned to review it after two years.
“The position is now to take a wee break and then review it as a manager or a player,” said Corey. “We will spend the next few weeks relaxing then the management team will get together after that.
“The arrangement is that we will review it after two years. There will be nothing just yet, we will all be taking a wee break for a few weeks.
“I’ll be reviewing it myself and we will take it from there and talk to all the stakeholders.”
Corey, who won two Ulster titles in a great playing career which stretched from 2003 to 2019, knows this is now a transition period for the county.
His Clontibret clubmate and former county playing colleague Conor McManus has suggested his playing days are drawing to an end, but Corey is encouraged by the fact that a lot of young players have been blooded.
They learned another harsh lesson against Galway when the failure to take chances, coupled with a few decisions and bounces of the ball not going in their favour, cost them dearly.
“In an ideal world you would have loved to be taking Darren Hughes off the bench there towards the end and Karl O’Connell and Kieran Duffy and Des Ward, especially physical players against the likes of Galway. These were the kind of players we were lacking.
“But on the flip side of that a lot of new boys got time as the year was going on and if you are going into Division One and you are down, seven, eight, nine or even ten players in some games, ten starters, it is a very difficult place to be and then confidence takes a hit and then all of a sudden you are in a bit of a rut.
“But I think the boys got themselves out of it before the year ended and they came to Galway and put in a real gutsy performance which could have gone our way if we got a bounce or two in our favour and we would have got the win.”
