Consistency and strong team spirit our big aims, says Ryan

MICHAEL RYAN was on the Nire road last week when his phone rang.

When he pulled over, Waterford County Board secretary Timmy O’Keeffe told Ryan — former Waterford ladies football manager and De La Salle’s Munster club-winning coach last year — that he was the new senior hurling manager in the county.

“There was no great emotion, to be honest. It was my second and last time going for the job, but I felt I’d done myself justice in the interview process, which was very good, and that my management package was good,” he said.

“Then I realised it was time to get down to business.”

Within a couple of hours he had 200 congratulatory texts. Some of the Dublin ladies footballers he managed some years ago got in touch; ditto their Laois counterparts. Texts came in from Peter Queally and Jim Greene, Paul Flynn and Fergal Hartley. Stephen Frampton and Dave Bennett rang him too.

“Fair dues to Peter [Queally], he’d gone for the job,” said Ryan.

“Jim Greene probably felt he could have gotten the job at one stage also, and one of his clubmates [Kevin Ryan] had gone for the job also. That was a big boost, to have them contact me.”

Ryan doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. You throw out Waterford’s heavy defeat in the Munster final and its effect on the younger players. He doesn’t blink.

“I’m not too worried about the young lads who came through that defeat because a lot of them would have been successful at colleges and minor level, they’d be used to winning, and youngsters bounce back from defeats quickly anyway.

“But having said that, if there are lessons to be learned from that defeat we’ll learn them. It was a one-off day: maybe the attitude wasn’t perfect, while Tipp were determined not to have a repeat of 2002, when they were Munster champions but Waterford beat them in the Munster final. They also had a new management team with a bit to prove.

“They got on a roll, got early goals and everybody sat back. Nobody took on the mantle of leadership, but I’m confident we’ll recover from that.”

Waterford have a promising cohort of youngsters coming through, but Ryan says they’ll have to be managed with care.

“You’ve to be careful because some lads take to inter-county senior hurling at 19 and some don’t, and a bad experience can set a youngster back years.

“Padraic Mahony took to it like a duck to water this year, and Darragh Fives the same, but the trick is to look at the individual.

“Everyone has to get a fair chance as well, which is something we’ll make clear at our first training session – everyone will get a fair crack of the whip.

“We’ll sit down as a management team and assess last year’s panel, then we’ll pick a panel, and we’ll come up with a system which suits the players we have.

“You have to be able to hurl, there’s room for flair, but tactics are involved as well now, whether you like it or not. We’ll have to find a balance there.”

Ryan’s used to finding that balance: “We’re the eternal optimists in Waterford. We have to be. I came out of Thurles in 1982, out of Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 1989, so we’ve had some serious setbacks over the years.

“If we’re guilty of anything, we can get carried away a bit – we’re either on a massive downer or we’re way up here.

“My view is that one thing we need to address is consistency, which has been a challenge for the last 13 years, and something we’ll have to change in terms of the mindset. Building a strong team spirit is a big part of that.

“People in Waterford are quietly optimistic, I think, but that’s good, because I don’t think they’re wildly optimistic. And there’s a lot of work to do – after all, there’s a savagely hard national league coming up.”

Ryan points out that finances are tight in Waterford but adds that the Deise aren’t alone.

“Money is tight in other counties as well, but we’ll be hoping to convince businesses in the county to come in and support us.

“It’s a tough job ahead. But a fantastic opportunity.”

Then the phone rings again. One of his former De La Salle charges. Ryan takes the call.

“Thanks,” he said, “I appreciate the call...”