Louth boss O’Rourke taking all the flak in his stride

Each morning for the last three weeks, Aidan O’Rourke has counted himself lucky he works in Belfast, not Louth.

Departing his house just inside the Armagh border, he has happily pointed his car north and hit the accelerator, leaving behind the criticism that has been floating around the Wee County. His players, he accepts, haven’t been so lucky. Going to the local shop becomes something of a chore when you’ve just been beaten by 15 points in the Championship. Everyone wants to have their say.

O’Rourke maintains he’s not bothered by the barbs tossed his way, though it would be surprising if he was not a little wounded.

The evening after Louth’s defeat by Kildare at Croke Park, a county board meeting was called and one particular delegate vented his spleen. O’Rourke, it was argued, must go. Ex-forward Darren Clarke also had his say, claiming Louth needed a local man in charge, adding venomously, with ‘a bit of passion’.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” insisted O’Rourke. “I’m sort of insulated from that stuff because I don’t live in Louth. I live on the border and every morning I go the opposite way to work in Belfast. I’m not going to the local shop in Louth or wherever and listening to the flak which, unfortunately, is what the players have been listening to.

“In fairness, in the last few weeks, it’s been deserved because of the performance against Kildare. You can’t expect to put in the display we did and walk away from it. There were two over riding emotions after the Kildare game. The first one was embarrassment. That quickly turned to anger because you feel you’ve brought it all on yourself. That can be a fairly potent mix of emotions. It depends how you use it. I feel we’ve reacted well. The players feel the performance in Mullingar last month was closer to what they’re capable of than Croke Park. They’re determined not to let themselves down. We’ll see, but I don’t think we’ll be found wanting.”

Given the perilous position, O’Rourke is clinging to the positives. He has found an unlikely one in the venue for today’s game, Omagh, arguing despite being Tyrone’s home, the Red Hands have never really took to playing there.

“Is home advantage significant? Yes and no,” he said. “The first thing is our guys are quite comfortable away from home. Mullingar was a bit of a fortress for Westmeath but we won there. Our record this year indicates we’re as comfortable away from home as at home. The other thing is I know from past experience Tyrone teams aren’t excited about playing in Omagh.

“I don’t know why that is, but it’s the case. When I was coming up through the ranks, the majority of Tyrone games would have been played in Dungannon, sometimes in Coalisland. I’m not entirely sure if Omagh feels like home to them yet. I think it’s familiar to them obviously but I don’t know if it’s a spiritual home or anything like that.”

Time will tell, though O’Rourke’s words carry some gravity, having enjoyed epic duels with Tyrone over the years as an Armagh star. He was wing-back on the Armagh team that faced Tyrone in the 2003 All-Ireland final. And he played in each of the three Championship meetings of 2005. It’s a completely different situation this time for the Dromintee man.

Realistically, Louth aren’t given much of a hope of plundering a famous win and his job could be on the line if they lose. “It’s very different but, as a manager, you quickly learn these days are all about the players,” said O’Rourke. “And that’s the way it should be. The management blend into the background and let the players go out and do their best. Of course, when you lose, then you’re up there front and centre to answer for it all. But that’s the nature of management. From our point of view, we’re looking to going up there and to giving a big performance. I think the effect on us of knowing we have to deliver has been really positive.”