Plenty of managers get to tell players their services are no longer required. Not many players get to tell managers the same thing.
For Cian Dillon, co-captain with the Clare hurlers last year, that moment came last September when he was asked to pick up the phone and tell Davy Fitzgerald that, after five years, the players wanted a change of voice.
“Look, it wasn’t easy,” says Dillon, “but then Davy knew what the story was, and I think was resigned to it anyway.
“He’d indicated to us, after we’d lost to Galway in July, that maybe it was time for him to go. For personal reasons as well, in terms of what he’d been through in the previous month [a heart operation].
“So I think in his head, that was it for him, from that day in the dressing-room. There wasn’t much difference. It was just a case of ‘that’s it’, and it was amicable all the way. We’ve all moved on from it.
“We’d talked with him throughout the whole process [along with other co-captain Tony Kelly]. It was just the way it was. He was talking with us, and vice-versa. All we can do as players is move on. We still have a great relationship with him. But it didn’t surprise me at all when I heard he’d gone for Wexford.”
Defeat to Galway
It was agreed, after the championship defeat to Galway, that Dillon and Kelly would get the views of the players and relay them back to Fitzgerald.
During his time, Fitzgerald guided Clare to the 2013 All-Ireland, their first since 1997, and last year delivered a first league title since 1978. They’ll look to defend that title under joint-managers Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor, starting with Saturday night against Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn.
Dillon is anticipating a smooth transition and a style of hurling that is a little more “off the cuff” than what Fitzgerald was instilling, especially in recent years.
“The new managers are emphasising different things, definitely. They’re big on making sure our skill level is as high as it can be and transferring that to game situations. We’re looking to hurl off the cuff really, express ourselves, play with that freedom and do what’s natural.
“The likes of Podge [Collins] and Tony Kelly can score from anywhere on their day, so it’s giving them the licence to express themselves.”
With Fitzgerald, Dillon admits it was “probably a bit more structured”, a style of play that didn’t always sit well with Clare supporters.
Channels
“We knew tactically how we needed to set up. But they’re giving players licence to see things themselves and go for little channels and holes if they appear.
“Our performances haven’t been up to standard in the last couple of years, particularly in Munster. I think our record over the past nine or 10 years has been very poor.
“In 2013 it didn’t prevent us from progress. We lost a Munster semi-final, but won an All-Ireland, so in the back of lads’ minds, do they think maybe that’s not a bad way to go, to go around the long way?
“They’ve worked the under-21s the last few years, have great knowledge of the players, only a small handful of players they haven’t worked with – maybe some of the older ones such as myself. So there’s bit of freshness but a bit of continuity as well, with Donal Óg Cusack staying on. It’s all positive for us going forward.
“Their work relationship is incredible, and they’re highly influential businessmen as well. How they get the time to do it, you have to sit back and admire. It’s incredible. But it’s mainly their appetite for success, to bring that forward.”
