Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Rory Gallagher's flawless plan executed perfectly

There are days in management when all the work in the training ground and meeting room comes off and this is as enjoyable as it gets. Gallagher had one of those days yesterday

Derry manager Rory Gallagher congratulated by his son Seany after Sunday's Ulster SFC win over Tyrone. ©INPHO/Lorcan Doherty

Last week as I did my obair bhaile for the Tyrone and Derry game I gave Cahair O'Kane, a Derry man and journalist with the Irish News, a shout to get a sense of his native county. His information was on the money but one thing he said really stuck in my head. He stated that Rory Gallagher would be regarded in Derry as one of, if not the top coach in Ireland. I had come across him plenty of times when he was in charge of Donegal but we had always got the better of them. 

While I obviously respected him I also expected for us to win when we met. As I watched his progress with Fermanagh I wondered had he become too wedded to an ultra defensive gameplan. He has seriously evolved though and his Derry team now are a serious unit. He is maximising the players at his disposal by appropriate use of their best attributes. Lockdown 2020 was an important time for this Derry team. It provided a pause point that allowed a callow group to really develop physically.