Antrim should have invested resources elsewhere says Watson

By Niall Gartland

FORMER Antrim hurler Liam Watson hopes that Davy Fitzgerald’s tenure in charge is a success, but would have preferred if the county board opted for home-grown management and invested its finances in its underage structures.

Fitzgerald was officially unveiled as new manager of Antrim’s senior hurlers on Monday on a two-year term with the option of a third year.

Speaking on the appointment, Antrim chairperson Seamus McMullan said that the former All-Ireland winning Clare player and manager “brings a wealth of experience to the role. His vision, drive and determination is a perfect fit with the ambition of our playing panel.”

However, scepticism has been expressed in some quarters about Fitzgerald’s decision to accept the role in light of his comments after stepping down as Waterford manager in June, expressing misgivings about the travel time and expressing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Fitzgerald does have Antrim connections, including friendships with Tony Shivers and Dominic Kearns, both Dunloy clubmen and heavily involved with the Saffron Business Forum group that have had Fitzgerald as an occasional guest and speaker at their functions.

He also brings with him a raft of experience of managing at the very highest levels, but former Antrim star Watson believes that he isn’t the right man for the job and that the county’s resources should have been invested elsewhere.

“Davy has a lot of passion and I wish him well for the job, but you have to ask if it is a great move for Antrim and I don’t think it is.

“He left a county team because the travelling was too much and now there’s a 900-round trip to be accounted for.

“I think there’s people in Antrim who could have taken the job. We were going particularly well under the previous management team and I thought one of the backroom could’ve stepped up to the main role and deserved their chance to build a team around them.”

He added: “There’s my own clubmate Johnny Campbell, he was involved and from what I heard, the players all had a lot of time for him and spoke very highly of him and his training.

“Davy will bring a new voice and new ideas but the question is whether it will eventually break down and unfortunately I think it will.”

Citing Antrim u-21’s surprise defeat to Derry in the Ulster Championship final back in March, Watson, who starred in his native Loughgiel’s run to the All-Ireland title in 2012, believes that the county board should redirect its focus to its underage structures.

“You look at the amount of money that will be pumped into the senior management set-up next year, and I think it would’ve been far better installing an Antrim man as manager and putting some of that money into our underage teams.

“The u-20s were beaten by Derry earlier in the year which was a crying shame and nobody ever looks at that. We need to make sure that the younger ones are properly looked after so that they can develop into top-class hurlers and go on to represent Antrim on the senior stage.

“The boys at Headquarters seem to know better so there’s no point in me arguing. I do wish Davy all the best, I’m not here to know him, it’s just my opinion and sometimes it’s right and sometimes it’s wrong.”