Louth GAA club | Callan: “Winning is the goal”

Glyde Rangers manager Wayne Callan has seen plenty of football in his time, but he now finds himself preparing for the DKIT Sport Louth Junior Football Championship final in his first season in charge of the Tallanstown side.

Speaking ahead of the final against Oliver Plunketts on Sunday, he said: “If you asked me at the start of the season what I wanted, I would have liked to have a good, solid league.

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“Something to build on, but this is a bit of a cherry on top. Obviously, winning is the goal, but to be in a final is fantastic and we're really, really looking forward to it.”

Glyde's league journey was far from perfect, with form fluctuating throughout. Callan, though, insists the bigger picture was always in mind.

“At the very start, we focused on the league for different reasons. I think every club is the same. Between school or holidays, we did pick up one or two injuries, so it was forced on us.

“Yeah, the form dipped, but it would be wrong for me to say I was disappointed, but I did want a stronger league campaign to build on for next year. But here we are in a championship final, so am I disappointed? No, not really.”

Experience and youth

The manager knew the potential waiting for him when he took the Glyde hotseat. With veterans from the side that lifted the county title two years ago, plus a fresh injection of minors, the balance is something he believes could carry them far.

“Absolutely. Good players, good attitude. Throw in the mix of the four minors, so I'm more than happy to see the squad develop. I know part of my brief was to integrate the younger players.

“I think we've done that to an extent, and next year, there are one or two more that will come in to strengthen the squad.

“But the majority of the team have played in the final, so it's not a step out of the comfort zone for them, really. It’s just about performing on the day, and I hope they do on Sunday, so that's it.”

Familiar faces

Having cut his teeth with a number of sides in the county, including the Geraldines, Callan is no stranger to many of the players, having managed against Baile Talún underage teams.

“I had a couple of years with the Geraldines. I know I've said it already, but Baile Talún would have been our nemesis when we were playing. We had a couple of ding-dong games.

“I'm looking at them now as senior footballers, and it's great. It's a credit to the coaches here, and it’s a credit to the previous management system, the committees.

“Everybody adds to it. I'm lucky enough to take them into a final, and hopefully we can perform in that final.”

Expressing themselves

Glyde and Oliver Plunketts both enter the final unbeaten, but Callan still believes his side have yet to fully show their hand.

“I think looking at it, honestly, there's more in them. They've been very cagey, would be the wrong word, but they've been playing in on themselves, maybe afraid to make a mistake.

“I've asked them, and myself and the coaches have said it to them, go out and express yourselves.

“On occasions, I think in patches of maybe 10 or 15 minutes, we play fantastic football, and then we maybe revert to type, where we're just nervous of making a mistake. You have to go out and perform for the 60 minutes, not just for 15 or 20 minutes.

“I think the big stage now should open the doors and let them express themselves the way they can. Hopefully, you're looking at them as their big squad. I'm buzzing. I know they are, too.”

Character

If proof of resilience was ever needed, it came in the semi-final against Naomh Fionnbarra, a tough battle that was decided late on from a Tadhg Kellett free.

“They did. You said it there, character within the squad. It's there in abundance. There are some people who don't talk, and then there are some people who don't stop talking.

“It's a nice mix between the maturity, wrong to say the naivety, but certainly, there's a complete mix, a complete bunch. It's about getting the right mix now.

“Hopefully, we can get the right 15 on who will perform. Then the five, whatever five come on as subs, hopefully, they can impact as well.”

Leaders

Names like Brian Duffy, captain Ciarán Sheridan, and returning countyman Niall Sharkey bring experience, which Callan says has allowed him to take a step back when needed.

“It's fantastic. I'd like to think I do the minimum amount of talking now, and whenever anything needs to be said, I might just prompt with a word or two words, and they know, they'll take it over.

“They are the leaders, and certainly for the young guys, they look up to them. Ciarán has played at a very high standard. Brian and, obviously, Niall, may be playing next year at a very high standard as well.

“It's great to have them, and it just adds there to, if you like, the go-to players, they're the clutch players.

“When you need something to happen, you do ask your leaders to do it, and they do perform, as well as the rest of them. I'm not just singling them out, but definitely, they lead by example.”

Oliver Plunketts

The Plunketts will not be an easy opposition, but Callan insists the focus will remain firmly on his own players.

“The Plunketts having played in Division Two, and that really would have been our goal as well at the start of the year. Playing a higher standard, or maybe a higher grade of football, will have helped them.

“But it's not about the Plunketts now, it's about how we perform. We're hoping the Plunketts have an off day, and we're hoping we polish off the season.”

No nerves

With so much experience in the dressing room, Callan doesn’t expect nerves to play a major role come Sunday.

“Within the camp, I think there's a good attitude, nice and relaxed. I'd like to think I'm nice and relaxed, maybe too relaxed, but it's about just letting them express themselves.

“They are, at whatever level of fitness they're going to be at now, we're not going to improve it.

“So, ball handling skills, decision making, shot selection, there's so many things that we can improve on. But on the day, I'm happy that they will step up to the mark.”

New rules

The introduction of the new rules to the game this season is something Callan has welcomed.

“I think it's great. I'm just voicing what everybody else is saying. It's a more exciting game. It's a faster game. Your fitness levels have to be really through the roof now at this stage.

“It's not a 15-man game, it's a 20-man game. So whoever does come in, you expect them just to add to it, not just to be in and make up the numbers. But I'm loving the new rules. Yeah, there was a lot of work at the start.

“I suppose it helped. I was at a lot of the conferences when it was being discussed with referees and things like that there. But I think overall, everybody's happy with the new rules. I am anyway.”

Personal pride

For the manager, who has medals from his own playing days, guiding this squad to silverware would carry a personal weight too.

“Whenever you finish playing, you want to be involved. So whatever level you're at, you want to improve. There is a certain amount of self-satisfaction and pride.

“But to take the guys and get across the line with the team or with the village, what it means to me is... I'd be wrong to say it means everything, but it's certainly up there with everything I've achieved with different teams."

Redemption

Last year’s Intermediate relegation was tough for Glyde Rangers to take, but Callan believes the pain of that drop has only fuelled their response.

“Well, again, that's the character. The young fellas coming in helped it, absolutely helped steady the ship. They're eager, their hunger is evident when I'm training them, when I'm talking to them. But I know they were disappointed.

“And when we did have our first team meeting with that, I asked them what they wanted, and they were clear. They were clear. I was clear.

“To get back to where they are now and to be playing in Division 2 or Intermediate standard is what they want. And hopefully, we can right it this Sunday.”