GERARD O’KANE: Hindsight is wonderful

BALANCE is a key word often used to describe how to obtain happiness in life.

Too much of a good thing can’t be good for you while you need some sort of light at the end of the tunnel to keep you going. Well the last fortnight Derry football teaches us that balance and perspective are important in a lot of aspects.

Firstly, my own opinions on the Mickey Harte appointment and his tenure in Derry football. Genuinely, I had no issues with the initial appointment. At the time it was rumoured and subsequently verified by Conor Glass on a GAA podcast that Malachy O’Rourke had been sounded out about the job but he felt he had unfinished business with Glen.

Then, unbeknown to me, it was also confirmed that James Horan and Jim Gavin had been sounded out. What those conversations looked like I have no idea, but given that those three possible candidates had ruled themselves out (also after Ciarán Meenagh stated he did not want it), where exactly could Derry turn?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but their options were limited and the geographical location of Derry makes it tougher.

If you were from somewhere in the midlands like Cavan, you could get a protractor and draw a circle that hits a distance of two plus hours and reach upwards on 10 or 11 counties.

If you do this with Derry, you barely reach the tip of Cavan and Newry and the far side of Donegal. Geographically we are hemmed in so it further decreases the options available. Within that, you have to look at who has a successful track record to take a team who were on the verge of an All-Ireland final last year. So I can see why they went after Mickey Harte – three All-Irelands with his native Tyrone is no mean feat. I also understand the sceptics too, of which there were many. But at that time, last September, I would ask, if not Mickey, then who?

These sceptics then seemed to go quiet during the successful run in the National League, the culmination of which was the swashbuckling display against Dublin in the final.

However, all hope then faded away as the championship rolled around and even the most ardent of Derry supporters and Mickey Harte supporters would be the first to admit that for whatever reason, the form of February and March had deserted them and cracks started to appear all over the place.

The end result is six championship games, one victory in normal time, one victory on penalties and four defeats and it is of no surprise that Mickey and his backroom team decided to step down.

Those who were against the appointment in the first place will lay claim to the fact they knew this was always going to happen. That’s their prerogative, but to predict a decline in performances like that from the end of March to the end of June is some going. In truth, very few people predicted that fall from grace.

The decision to appoint Mickey was made with the best interests of Derry football at heart and the decision to step down is probably the right one.

Since then, the rumour mill has been in full force as to who the next manager will be. Genuinely at the time of writing, I have received so many WhatsApps and forwarded messages that it is hard to separate the truth from rumour.

The decision-makers themselves don’t know yet as the nomination forms for clubs is open to next Thursday. There is always a school of thought that it is good to have these things in place before the club championships throw in in order to give a new manager a chance to view all the potential panelists.

In reality, Derry is not a big county. From the squads of the last few years, there are very few top players, if any, who are sitting outside the circle of the county squad. It is more about harnessing the talent within the current squad and making sure everyone stays injury free as the playing pool of intercounty players is small.

So overall, the decision to appoint Mickey Harte at the time in September 2023 did not seem overly wrong. It just turns out that it was just not the right fit, though no one would have said that at the end of March 2024.

For the players, I understand it is a year lost in a short career of the intercounty window, especially in a year where the All-Ireland has been the most open for ages.

Any team in the last four would definitely have fancied themselves to win it and so hopefully the next appointment is the right one and this time next year Derry fans can be having that dream again.