Brennan putting his stamp on Oak Leafers
John Brennan’s legend is not nearly as gilded as O’Dwyer’s — not nationally, at any rate — but his approach echoes that of his Kerry counterpart in that he was never afraid to clock up the miles to spread gospels which share parallels.
Outposts such as Lavey, Loup, Slaughtneil, Cargin and Carrickmore have all been illuminated by his presence and this season he has guided Derry to a first Ulster final since Joe Brolly downed Donegal in 1998.
His is a philosophy that, rightly or wrongly, has been classified under the file ‘Old School’ and on Sunday he will pit his wits against Donegal’s Jim McGuinness, whose devotion to more scientific methods and a blanket defence make him a poster boy for the younger generation.
“They have adopted a system which suits the players at their disposal,” said Brennan of Donegal, their opponents again on Sunday. “I have a system going that suits Derry’s players. You saw us earlier in the year when we played against teams like Tyrone who employed a sweeper system.
“In the McKenna Cup final, I put men forward and people were screaming that Derry only had five defenders but, if we had, Tyrone only had four forwards. We still had an extra defender. It’s simple things like that.
“I know I use the word ‘simple’ all the time but you have to look and ascertain what is going on out here. You have to look at it yourself and look at your own team. You have to ask yourself: ‘Are we capable of countering what the opposition are doing?’
“If you are capable of that, then let them make the chances. If we are winning, why should we change to suit them? Donegal have a system. It has worked.
“If it is working for them, why change? I wouldn’t criticise their system.”
Brennan’s no nonsense, ‘what’s with the fuss’ attitude is perhaps best summed up by the reasoning behind his decision to replace defender Brian Óg McAlary after just 10 minutes of the Ulster semi-final against Armagh.
McAlary had been Derry’s most impressive marker in training leading up to that game but he slipped early on at St Tiernach’s Park and picked up a yellow card. Brennan looked to his bench and called upon Ciarán Mullen. “If you make one mistake, it is enough,” said Brennan. “Two is too many. Three and you sit beside me.
“Isn’t that right? Football is a bit of craic. There is nothing magic to it. You just use your intelligence.”
Everything he does is stripped of complications and boiled down to the bare essentials. One of his core arguments is that systems should suit players, not the other way around.
But he isn’t a closed shop. Change is welcomed if it brings with it benefits.
There was a time when his fingerprints were everywhere but he has learned to delegate. Kick-outs, such an integral part of the modern game, are left to goalkeeper Danny Devlin and his specialist coach Johnny Kelly from Magherafelt.
“Up until last year, I was a one-man show. I trained every team. The clubs to which I went put trainers in place and I discarded the lot of them. They were training in an area no bigger than this hall and that didn’t suit my thinking.
“They carried that habit onto the pitch. They played in small areas, but I wanted expansive play. The way Derry are playing at the moment. Every night I’m out from the start of the training to the end of the training.”
His methods and record speaks for themselves. Brennan is one of these managers who seems to enjoy instant success wherever he goes and Derry will be just as encouraged by a favourable success rate in finals down the years across Ulster. His ability to continue that trend has been compromised by the loss of Eoin Bradley to the same cruciate curse that had already deprived him of his brother Paddy but Brennan’s beliefs remain constant regardless of circumstances.
“It’s a simple game, football. If you can kick points and cut out the mistakes and play football the way Derry did the last day (against Armagh), we will be hard to beat.”
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