Читать книгу The Boys of '93. Derry’s All-Ireland Kings онлайн

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Since starting coaching, I got on well with players. Be straight with them and you’ll get the best out of them – it was a simple enough philosophy. Having won two Sigersons back to back with Jordanstown in ’85 and ’86, I guess I had earned a reputation as a winner.

Fair and direct was the approach from the start and to let the players know I believed in them. They knew exactly how I approached the game and what I expected from them. That, to me, was crucial.

They hadn’t been winning matches but once we started to put a run together they became more positive and assured in themselves. It spilled out. When you’re winning with a team, even if you’re not a great player, you start to believe you are better than you are. The belief and the commitment grew from there. The training which Mickey Moran put them through was tightening them up as well.

It hadn’t been hard from me to settle into things as manager. Once I’d made up my mind to take on the team, it was just a matter of putting things into practice. I tried to build a family, every man playing for each other. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t; like everything else it all depends on the players.