To doubt is to be wrong for bainisteoirs

If you read the Eamonn Fitzmaurice interview in these pages last week, you enjoyed a terrific insight into what it means to stand on a sideline with a day-glo BAINISTEOIR bib on your back.

Fitzmaurice sketched out the challenges that face the modern inter-county manager, with a heavy emphasis on that word in its various declensions: we associate the concept of game management with another Irish Examiner columnist — chap who played a bit of rugby, good kicker — but Fitzmaurice commented on the motivation behind substitutions late in the game, for instance.

The Kerryman pointed out that as a general rule if you’re bringing on defenders then it’s not a great sign, as it suggests you’re trying to shore up your rearguard rather than going for the jugular up front.