This story appeared in the Impartial Reporter Newspaper
Rumours had been circulating that McGrath may be attracting the attention of his native county Down who are in search of a new manager after Jim McCorry’s resignation.
But those rumours have been put to bed with the news that McGrath will stay on for a third term as Fermanagh manager.
On rumours that he would be in the running for the Down job, McGrath stresses that he had no contact with Mourne officials and even if he had, he would have found it very hard to walk away from Fermanagh.
“Down made no contact with me and to be quite honest I didn’t expect any contact to be made. There were obviously rumours and speculation as you will always get but I said at the time that it was all very hypothetical and I have been re-appointed as Fermanagh manager and we will go ahead with that.
“I’ve nothing but tremendous admiration for the Fermanagh players in terms of their honesty, ability and integrity and there was a lot of hard work put in and a lot of trust built up between players and management. We all put our shoulders to the wheel together, we all stuck together and it would have been exceptionally hard for me to consider not to go back for a third year and I’m looking forward to the year ahead,” added McGrath.
And he says that he has already met with the players to discuss the way forward as they look to build on a 2015 that was full of progress.
“We’ve had a number of meetings already, we’ve met the players and the management have had a number of meetings as well and we are looking at putting in place a blueprint to bring us all forward for 2016 and build on the progress and the success we had in 2015.
“What happened in the season just ended, everyone enjoyed it and we experienced a lot of good days, great games and a fair degree of success, but it will all mean very little if we don’t build on it next year.
“When we met the players last week there was certainly a determination among that group and they are looking forward to the challenges of the new year and to build on the foundations of this year.
“We’ll be talking to the County Executive tonight (Tuesday) and putting forward the blueprint that we have and we think it is important that everybody buys into that,” commented McGrath.
McGrath also didn’t rule out additions to his backroom team.
“There are no additions yet, it is something we will look at, but management, like players, you are constantly seeking for improvement, you look for every particular avenue that might bring you to that improvement and we have haven’t finished yet in terms of our planning but we have a fair idea of where we want to go and how we want to get there,” he said.
And he believes that the foundations laid in 2015 can help Fermanagh moving into next season.
“Division Two football is going to be challenging but the fact that we made a lot of progress championship wise, that does form a very firm foundation in terms of players self belief and confidence. They know that when they apply themselves, and when they do the work and look after themselves and the whole thing is professional, then they can compete with the very, very best. This is something I have said for many months now and it is just a matter of getting the right structures in place and creating the right environment to provide the players with all the opportunity they need to be the very best they can be, both individually and then as a group collectively. That’s the challenge facing us as a management team, to put all those things in place and then when you combine that with the application and dedication of the players there is no reason why we can’t look forward to next year with confidence. It is going to be hard, Division Two will be very competitive, there will be no such things as an easy game, but if we are well prepared for that challenge then I think we will have a very good grounding going ahead into the championship,” he stated.
The Fermanagh manager doesn’t expect to have to deal with any retirements either. Niall Cassidy was unable to attend a recent team meeting but Ryan McCluskey was present and McGrath has no confirmation that anyone will not be returning for the 2016 campaign.
“No-one as yet has officially confirmed to me that they are retiring and until someone definitively says that to me, then as far as I’m concerned, no-one is leaving. There are a number of players there who have been there for quite a while but they contributed enormously this year, indeed all the players contributed enormously this year, all the players still have a lot to contribute and offer and I would hope that all players are on board. There always are issues in players lives but we talk these issues through and find a way that the players can still train and play for the county and with goodwill and common sense then I think we can keep everybody on board,” he explained.