Sludden hoping managerial change can spark upturn in fortunes for Dromore

By Barry O’Donnell

FORMER county star Niall Sludden hopes that the presence of a couple of ‘blue bloods’ on the sideline can kickstart Dromore’s season into life.

Two favourite sons of St Dympna’s, Eoin McCusker and Paddy Montague, took over the managerial reins at St Dympna’s last week, replacing Jason Reilly, and they enjoyed a positive start with the side putting Moortown to the sword at Gardrum Park in the Tyrone league.

Padraig Dillon amassed a whopping 16 points as the hosts ended their four-match losing run with a 0-26 to 1-12 victory over the visiting St Malachy’s as they start to edge their way up the Division One table.

Captain Sludden was one of those who really led by example across the hour as Dromore made a long overdue return to the winner’s enclosure. He felt that the new management set-up had helped to galvanise the squad, albeit he cautioned that there was still no excuse for some limp displays of late.

“Paddy and Eoin were there before and they both bleed blue,” he said.

“I was fortunate enough to play with the boys and they were my role models growing up. It’s just great to have them on the sidelines now but I think we know as players that our performances just haven’t been good enough and we had to step up regardless of what was happening at the club.

“There was an onus on the players too and you know fortunately we got that win against Moortown but we really want to kick on now and push on up the table.”

Dromore have had a tough trot of away matches over the past month in which they have struggled to mine any points, so Sludden acknowledged that it was nice to savour a bit of home cooking again.

“We haven’t been down in Gardrum that much, we have only had a few games at home but that’s no real excuse. It’s probably just a change of attitude as much as anything.

“It hasn’t been good enough this last while. We have always prided ourselves on consistency in the league. In Tyrone it is a fantastic standard and we have slipped back in recent weeks. It was good to get the win but we know there’s plenty of work to do because, again, the Tyrone league is ruthless.”

The Dromore captain was especially pleased with the side’s response to falling 1-3 to 0-3 in arrears against Moortown after the concession of a goal midway through the first half. From that juncture onwards, the St Dympna’s completely dominated affairs.

“We were kind of struggling with confidence in the last couple of games. We could have dropped the heads out there after we shipped the goal. But I suppose we just said that whatever happens, if they do get a goal or points, we just get back at it.

“I suppose we got a few points on the board and got back into the game and kept chipping away. We pushed on then. We got a grip on kick-outs and things like that. It was a lot more enjoyable than the last few games when we were beaten, that’s for sure.”

The former All-Ireland winner feels that across the county now the intensity levels within club football will crank up a notch or two, with the inter-county season all wrapped up.

“Once Tyrone is finished up, all the players come back to their clubs and even with the reserves you see things go up a notch or two. Everybody starts pushing on as the championships are now on your mind.

“Every league game in Tyrone is massive and I think that’s the beauty of it. I think in other counties the leagues are not the same. In Tyrone if you’re not on it on any day here in the league, you get punished.

“The standard these days is sky high – when you look at the quality of young players and the success of the Tyrone minors and u-20s winning All-Irelands. That’s testament to the work being done by all the clubs and schools. It is unbelievable.

“Tyrone as a county is really pushing things on. The young boys are coming in, and are being well coached, even down through the divisions. We have a fantastic league and championship format. I hope that we never lose that.”