Ryan: huge honour, but also huge challenge

LESS than a day in the job as Tipperary hurling manager, Declan Ryan is been kept on his toes.

“I’m busy enough alright,” he laughs as he fields yet another call on the mobile. The media interest is understandable. After all, Ryan is now sitting in the hottest seat in hurling management, charged with defending the All-Ireland title which Liam Sheedy and company helped deliver two months ago.

A sensible man, winner of three All-Ireland senior medals himself in three different decades (1989, 91 and 2001), he’s aware of the expectations and the accompanying pressure. But he’s not unnerved by it.

“It’s a huge honour, first and foremost. And yes, it’s also a huge challenge — taking over a team that are All-Ireland champions isn’t a simple task. Everyone in Tipperary was hoping and expecting that Liam and the lads would stay on for at least one more year. But I suppose any man with red Tipperary blood in his veins would love to get this job.”

Time, the demands that went with being involved in inter-county management with a top team, was the reason that Liam and his sideline team, Eamon O’Shea (coach) and Michael Ryan (selector) stepped down. All three have demanding jobs, young families, and after three years it had all become too much. Ryan also has a demanding job, a young family, and both those factors were taken into consideration before he took this job.

“I had to check things out with my employer, and I’d like to thank them — Norbrook Laboratories — for their co-operation. I wouldn’t even have considered the job unless I had their full backing, and I have that. I work as a rep for them, on the road, and anyone with a job these days has to mind it. So I was conscious of that. I also have a wife Alice, and two sons Jack, who’ll be eleven in December, and Thomas who was nine in July. Taking on Tipperary at any stage is a huge challenge but taking them on now, in this situation, with such a huge squad of talented players, after the work done by Liam and Eamon and Mick, you’re even more conscious of it.”

A massive responsibility then, to go with those he already shoulders with work and family, but at least he has a head-start, in that he is already familiar with most of the current panel.

“Myself and Tommy (Dunne, new coach) and Michael (Gleeson, selector) were involved with the minors in 2007 and 2008 while Tommy was coach of the U21s that won the All-Ireland this year. We’d have a good handle on those, and on the other young lads coming through, and we’ll have a chance to look at some more of those in the coming weeks and months.”

Of course he won’t be able to look at any of the current squad until the New Year, because of the GAA ban on collective training though the squad will be keeping in shape with their own personal programmes.

January 2011, that’s when the real work begins, the National League just around the corner, a competition, says Declan, that they will be taking seriously.

“Sure you have to – our first three games are against Kilkenny at home, Dublin away, Waterford at home, all under lights. There’s no easy game there, so you have to take it seriously. You’re preparing for a Munster quarter-final against Cork in May so every game in preparation has to be taken seriously.”

The new management was last night boosted by confirmation that the highly rated Cian O’Neill is to remain as physical trainer of the team next season.