Counihan takes time to ponder Rebel decision
The Aghada man’s tenure officially came to an end after last month’s final victory over Down but he has been offered another term, as is the standard practice in the county following All-Ireland triumphs.
Counihan is anxious to make a decision soon in the best interests of the county’s preparations for next year’s campaign.
“Really I don’t want to drag it out too much. In the next week or two certainly, I’d be making a decision. I’d be anxious for everyone’s sake and that the thing moves on. Whatever way it goes, the quicker that happens the better. Whatever way it works out, it’s going to be difficult for Cork going forward. But there’s still a lot of hope there as well.”
Counihan admits that he can empathise with Liam Sheedy who stepped down as Tipperary hurling boss last week due to an inability to continue combining work and managerial commitments.
“I think people know well now at this stage there is an awful lot of commitment in it. If you’re to do it anyway successfully, you certainly have to delegate responsibility. In my own case, I was very fortunate to have a very dedicated backroom team. Everyone was there with a purpose, there was no one there just for the sake of being there. That’s essential.
“But even with that it’s quite testing as everyone involved is working and that has to be where our first commitment is. If we don’t do that, we fail to provide in terms of the simple things for family. But it is a delicate balancing act. You need very supportive people in the family setup and to date we’ve been fortunate in that. It’s a big task, but still it’s been very enjoyable too.”
Counihan, who was speaking last night in the Rochestown Park Hotel where he received the C103/96FM GAA Sports Star of the Month Award, revealed he is looking forward to being a manager on the All stars Football trip to Kuala Lumpur next month and has savoured the celebrations in the county in recent weeks.
“This is one of the junkets that people talk about I guess but it’ll be a nice trip and nice to meet people from other counties that have similar interests.
“It’s been a hectic few weeks but sure it’s a great problem to have. I think people were 20 years waiting and there’s certainly been a lot of celebrating and an awful lot of goodwill towards the team. It’s been well deserved to the team as well I think. The effect it has on people is amazing. Maybe it’s the times that we’re in and people appreciate it more, but it’s been fantastic. I haven’t looked at the match fully yet on video but hopefully now when things settle down over the next few weeks, I’ll get a chance to look at it.”
Meanwhile the GAA yesterday released the official fixture list for next year’s National Football and Hurling Leagues. James Horan is set to make his bow as Mayo boss on Saturday February 5th against All-Ireland finalists Down with plans in place to have floodlights in McHale Park, Castlebar by then.
The Division 1 meeting of All-Ireland finalists Cork and Down, which was slated for Sunday March 13th, may now take place the night before after a request from Down for a Saturday fixture. Finally the Division 1 tie between Kerry and Galway, which had been pencilled in for Austin Stack Park on Saturday March 12th, has been moved to Fitzgerald Stadium 24 hours later. This follows a request from Westmeath to play their NHL Division 2 clash against Kerry on the Saturday in Tralee rather than on the Sunday.
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