Shea Fahy: Succession planning key for Cork football future

Fahy expects Cork to bounce back against Kildare from their heavy defeat to Derry a fortnight ago

Shea Fahy believes the time John Cleary has been given as Cork football manager is vitally important but so is planning for who will succeed the Castlehaven man. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

It may be Cork v Kildare but the penultimate round of Division 2 is hardly enough reason to steer Shea Fahy down memory road.

The former Sarsfields man will always keep an eye out for how the Lilywhites are faring but there are more pressing matters. Like, his adopted county’s promotion chances and planning for life after John Cleary.

Cork breathed a huge sigh of relief when Fahy’s old team-mate chose to stay on for another two seasons as manager. See out the latest two-year agreement and Cleary will have completed five full seasons at the helm.

Fahy was delighted when the Castlehaven man’s extension was confirmed last August and hopes it has given the Cork executive enough time to be thinking about his successor.

“Continuity is huge. In the game today, the managers who are getting more than the two or three years get to know more about what’s happening and what’s needed. It is the way to go. You need that experience.

“The other side of that is somewhere along the way, John is going to finish, and are we planning around that for the future. That is one of the things that Cork have struggled with – who is the next person coming along.

“If it’s someone in John's backroom team that's there now, fantastic. But if that's not part of the plan, then they need to get that person into that team so that there's some continuity as you get into the next stage whenever John decides to call it a day.

“Like, the game has gone very professional in a lot of ways. Make sure you maintain that consistency in the way the management do things, and obviously for the players make sure that the transition is as professional as possible.” 

In Fahy’s book, maturing players, more scoring forwards and a sprinkling of up-and-coming talent have been the reasons for Cork’s uptick in Division 2 form before the Derry result.

“The biggest thing is the tight games. I remember they had a game with Cavan in the Páirc two years ago (Cork lost by a point). In previous years, they would have been beaten in the last few minutes. That hasn’t been happening.

“The other thing is there seems to be more scoring forwards involved. The new game and the new structure suit those Cork players. The team are playing a good brand of football with them too.

“You’re seeing younger players coming through as well. You have to be bringing two or three of them through every year. Otherwise, you end up on a cliff-edge somewhere along the way with lots of players retiring and you have to start all over again.” 

Were Cork not to return to Division 1 for the first time since 2016, Fahy wouldn’t regard it as a failure. At the same time, he would be conscious of the need for good vibes in the camp ahead of the Munster SFC.

“I don't think it's the be-all and end-all of it. But I think it helps with a bit of momentum based on the structure of the championship now.

“When I played in the league and the championship, it was very different. In the championship, it didn't make a huge difference how we got on the league.

“But now the league runs fairly quickly into the championship and momentum is good for a team. Particularly for Cork, the league is important because we haven't won anything for a while and that helps in relation to confidence.” 

Fahy was delighted Cork GAA, on the advice of Cleary and his management team, applied to switch the Kildare game from SuperValu Páirc Ui Chaoimh to Páirc Uí Rinn on foot of the win over Meath there last month.

“It’s great because sometimes we don't move these things, we just keep them where they are. It was hugely important and I think it’ll be a huge benefit to the Cork team on Saturday night. I just think it was a really smart thing to do, and it'll drive the team on for an extra point or two.” 

In the context of the preceding four consecutive victories, the 20-point defeat away to Derry was an aberration. Fahy doesn’t anticipate there will be any hangover from that result in the Kildare game.

“If the team are going to be where they want to be this year and do what they want to do, then obviously you have to bounce back Saturday night.

“I think Cork are going to win. They should be going at this game hard. Losing two games in a row wouldn't be a great place to be. But I don't think they will. John is smart enough to know how to handle this and make sure the team are where they should be to win.”