Magee back and rarin' to go after lengthy lay-off
After being one of the capital’s steadiest performers during the past three lean years, Magee had to watch from the bench as Tommy Lyons’ young team finally slaked the city’s thirst for success. His face expressed as much delight as anybody else at the final whistle, but not being involved was disappointing.
“It was great to see the lads win. It was like Roy Keane missing the Champions League final,” he jokes. “I missed it, you know, you have to get on with it. It was different sitting, watching the lads and running out, grabbing them when they won. It was a different buzz, but we still won a Leinster title.”
Despite the knee injury, Magee was determined to tog out for the match. He couldn’t play but he wanted to show he is very much a part of this team. What’s the big difference between now and the hard few years Tom Carr had to endure?
“We have just got the breaks. A few lads came in, Ray Cosgrove, Johnny McNally, Alan Brogan, brought a bit of freshness up front. But, we got the breaks against Meath and Kildare. Other years, we didn’t get the breaks. That’s the difference.”
The knee injury, now overcome, was a particularly distressing blow for Magee, because the Kilmacud defender had done so much to get fit for this year’s championship. A long lay-off last year meant Johnny carried a stone into last summer. The new manager wasn’t standing for any of that/
“Tommy said if I wanted to play in the championship for his team, I would have to lose the weight. I wanted to play for Dublin, so I concentrated on getting my weight down and in fairness, he stuck by me, gave me my chance. Hopefully, I will repay him on Monday.”
Magee held himself to a restrictive regime. Every morning began with a run, no food after tea time. “Yeah, I started training every day, a 45 minute run every morning and I had to watch what I ate. I wasn’t allowed to eat after 7.30pm, that was the big thing.
“When you are home, relaxing, watching the telly, and you couldn’t grab a piece of toast or whatever. Couldn’t have any snack at all, that was the worst. My mother was asking did I want a sandwich or anything, and you couldn’t have it. That was the big thing, just a bit of discipline.
“It worked, though. I lost two stone, the knee set me back a bit, but I am not going to dwell on it. It seems to be fine now, and I am ready for Monday. If the knee goes during the game it goes and I will have an operation. It is not something will be playing on my mind coming up to the game, it is a risk I am willing to take to play for Dublin.”
Certainly, the injury doesn’t seem to have adversely affected him in training.
Last Saturday, Lyons brought the Dublin side together for a probables against possibles game. Magee was the first on the pitch and the first to every ball. His few weeks on the side line has re awakened his appetite to prove himself.
And Donegal have been good to him in the past. It was in a league game a couple of years ago that Magee looked the answer to Dublin’s centre half problems, and in this year’s league game, he scored what turned out to be the winning goal.
The game also offers Magee an opportunity to prove his fitness is regained. Although, the busy and enterprising football of Micheal Hegarty offers a stiff challenge for any centre half, Magee has been a consistent performer for Dublin in the past few years. If Dublin are to win on Monday, they need Magee approaching the top of his game as he will be the main marshal of the supply line to Devenney and Sweeney.
“It is a tough draw. Donegal played well against Meath, Adrian Sweeney, Devenney, Roper, they have a lot of established footballers. We are not taking anything for granted. On the day, if we play well, we could beat them. On the day, if they play well, they could beat us. It is a 50-50 game.”
However, there is a confidence flowing through this Dublin team that is almost like an extra couple of points.
“There is more confidence in the camp, beating Meath and Kildare has helped enormously. The monkey is off our back now and we have young lads who are not afraid.”
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