Errigal will welcome back McGuckin

Errigal Ciaran captain Enda McGinley says manager Ronan McGuckin will be welcomed back into the camp after opting out of Sunday’s Ulster Club Football Championship clash with Ballinderry.

McGuckin is expected to return to training tonight. He stepped down two weeks ago, unwilling to manage a team against his home club.

But the Tyrone champions, with team trainer Tommy McDermott at the helm, overcame the Derry kingpins by a point at Healy Park to qualify for the semi-finals.

“Hopefully he will come back on board, the whole thing will be ironed out and we’ll push on,” said McGinley.

He admitted he was bitterly disappointed at the manager’s decision to vacate his position immediately after the runaway preliminary round win over Mullahoran of Cavan.

“It was tough. There was a disappointment there, but that’sbecause he has been so good during the year, and to be without him coming into a big game was just sodisappointing, because we know we’re stronger with him.”

But the former Tyrone star accepted that McGuckin found himself in a dilemma.

“It’s a real Catch-22, and that was part of Ronan’s decision in stepping down. I know that he’s a man that only gives a 100%, and he, bottom line, probably couldn’t have given a 100%.

“So the question was – was he better away completely, or was he better there 50%? We’ll never know.”

“From our point of view, all’s well that ends well, and we’ll look forward to getting Ronan back on board.

“Hopefully there’s no issues there, I can’t foresee any. A win is a great way of smoothing over things, and as time passed, the boys grew to respect Ronan’s decision, although still, from an Errigal point of view, it was disappointing not having him.”

On the day that Errigal played their most important game in six seasons, McGinley felt that they were better off without a manager than with one battling with divided loyalties.

“In hindsight, a manager with split loyalties is maybe better to be out of the way, and let us have a fair crack at the whip.

“So he did that, he stepped aside. We’ll never know what the alternative would have been, but we have that process to go under now, of him rejoining the squad.”