McGeeney still addicted to football despite abuse and Kerry defeat

After 11 seasons at the helm, what now of Kieran McGeeney on the Armagh sideline?

Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney before the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Armagh and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

After 11 seasons at the helm and an end to their All-Ireland title defence, the question was inevitable. What now of Kieran McGeeney on the Armagh sideline?

“Ah, it’s hard to know,” said the man who’s worn the main sideline bib since the throw-in of the 2015 season.

“I sit down every year. My thing is always about players. It’s all about the players. First and foremost, what they want and how much they want to push on. My appetite for football has always been the same. I love it. I enjoy it, despite the abuse. It’s just one of those things. I don’t know, maybe it’s an addiction. I haven’t even thought about that.” 

Let’s tease out mention of abuse in this campaign just concluded before teasing out how their time as champions had the curtains drawn.

“Whether it’s the GAA themselves or the supporters, the GAA manager is the person that gets blamed for everything. I know as a manager I’ve made a shitload of mistakes. Things like that there, but it’s amazing how everybody else tends to have a mirror that only tends to go out the way rather than looking back at themselves.” 

Kerry’s sensational move from five behind to nine in front McGeeney described as “15 minutes you’d like to forget”.

“Eleven out of our 13 kickouts we lost. If I could pinpoint the reason [why we were losing them], we could have stopped it. Listen, it was just one of those days. Seánie [O’Shea], no matter what he hit, was putting them over and everybody else was joining in.

“It was just a 15-minute period where Kerry were devastating, and we couldn’t get our hands on the ball.” 

Devastating by a Kerry team written off locally before throw-in. McGeeney saw and heard what was being written and said it didn’t influence or interrupt Armagh’s approach or matchday mindset.

“It was the Kerry boys that were talking them down so we wouldn’t pass much remarks to that. That’s what Kerry do. My in-laws are from there. I would hear direct. They were National League champions, Munster champions, highest scoring forwards, highest scoring team going into it, like. I know Éamonn [Fitzmaurice] and the boys will write that stuff but nobody really believes it.”