New Dromore boss O’Reilly aims to instil winning mentality

By Niall Gartland

RETAINING their Jim Devlin Cup title is a measure of the hard work produced by the Dromore footballers in the early season, according to their new manager Jason O’Reilly.

The former Cavan star has assumed the reins at St Dympna’s, succeeding Ryan McMenamin, who stepped aside after three years in charge.

O’Reilly enjoyed a productive playing career, pocketing an Ulster Championship medal with the Breffni County in 1997, and he’s also done well on the managerial front, most prominently leading Cavan Gaels to an Ulster Senior final berth in 2017 and in more recent times assisting another Cavan man, Terry Hyland, at Leitrim.

Now he’s embarking on a new challenge in Dromore, and he’s been delighted with the application of his players, who last Wednesday evening clinched back-to-back Jim Devlin Cup titles with a 3-15 to 2-7 victory over Donaghmore.

“When I first came in, the players and I spoke about how we want to win every game, whether it’s a challenge game or competitive match, and it’s about getting that mentality instilled in them.

“There’s been good work already in the last couple of years and I’m coming in with a whole new background team, it’s a fresh voice and the boys are getting used to me and I’m getting used to them.

“It’s been good so far, we’ve worked hard in the last few months so it’s nice to get a bit of silverware.”

Dromore will now turn their focus to their upcoming Division One campaign, which commences on Sunday week away to Killyclogher. O’Reilly says they’re a work-in-progress but they will still harbour ambitions on building on their Jim Devlin success.

“We’ll be going into the league with a winning mentality which is good. We’re still trying to get our best team out, and we’re looking at players in different positions, and like other teams, we’re still adapting to the new rules.

“But we’re happy with how things are going, we’ll take it one game at a time and see where it takes us.”

O’Reilly also says that Peter Teague and Nathan McCarron play a vital role behind the scenes even though they’re on county duty at the moment.

“Even though they’re with Tyrone, they’re regularly with us encouraging the lads. It’s good for the younger lads seeing the commitment of the county lads, and being able to learn from them. It’s those fellas like Peter and Nathan and the other leaders on our team who will do more than anyone to guide the younger lads coming through.”