Longford's Paddy Fox pictured at the launch of the Leinster SFC. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
By Cian O’Connell
Paddy Fox’s passion for Longford and Gaelic Football endures. So, once Fox was wanted another year on the senior inter-county beat was going to be time well spent.
It was a mixed Allianz Football League campaign for Longford in Division Four, but Fox remains optimistic that the midlanders’ collection of emerging and established footballers can make an impact against Wicklow in the Leinster SFC on Sunday. “I came back for more,” Fox laughs about committing for another campaign.
“It's very enjoyable. I love it, like any kind of football. I love it. You're pitting yourself against the best. Yeah, it's all you want, to be honest with you.
“The fear is the day will come, you realise maybe mid-game that you've went a bridge too far. At the moment, I'm absolutely loving it. The body is in reasonably good nick. It's good to be expected at this stage. So yeah, I love it.”
Fox was disappointed that Mike Solan’s outfit didn’t push for promotion in a competitive Division Four. “I said it before, it was the inconsistency, I suppose,” Fox reflects.
“It was like, on the first day, a draw against Limerick. Now look, it was a two-pointer, last kick of the game, Matthew Carey struck it over to get us a draw, it's a great start. You go down to Tipp then and you lose to a two-pointer.
“And then, I suppose after that it was a bit inconsistent, really. We had a couple of highs, a couple of lows. So yeah, it's trying to get that balance.”
Reasons for optimism exist according to Fox. “It's quite a young team, myself and Paddy Collum are only two over 30,” he says.
“You have a couple of lads in the mid to late 20s. And then you have a lot of lads, I suppose, that are 19 to 21, 22. So it's really, I suppose, on yourself and a few of the lads, that are experienced there, to provide that stability when you see another teams purple patch coming, it's not letting it get out to six, seven, eight points.”
Valuable lessons were learned in the league. “Especially with the new rules,” Fox adds. “It can be hard. Because if the team gets a score to kick a two-pointer, to kick a one-pointer, to squeeze your kick out, they're set, they stay in their press, and before you know it, you can be seven, eight points down.
Paddy Andrews, Dublin, and Paddy Fox, Longford, in Leinster SFC action in 2018. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
“And then, as you can see before there, myself included, you start compounding the issue. When you get a ball, you force it, you take your man on, you're forcing it, you're forcing the goal. And you're making matters worse, really. It's probably a mindset thing, too, where maybe old rules, an eight, generally an eight-point lead, an eight-point lead is never turned over.
“The new rules, they're being turned over once a week, if not more. I remember, I used to think, with the club or Longford, if you ever got to get an eight-point lead thinking, we're home-and-hosed here. Seven you used to think, they could, but now, 12 points, it can be turned over. It is partly a mindset thing, too. Definitely, we need a bit more consistency, I think, is the key we're driving for with Longford.”
Mike Solan replaced Paddy Christie as Longford boss for 2025. As an experienced campaigner, how is it dealing with a change of management? “Generally, it's not too bad,” Fox replies.
“There's usually a bit of consistency. So, like, our S&C, he left us during year this year, Danny Doherty, he got a job with Derry City, but he was kind of with us for four years or so. There does be, like, look, Longford's a small county as well, it doesn't be too bad. Ideally, yeah, you want, I suppose, a manager, you want to a Mickey Harte with Tyrone for 10, 15 years, whatever it may be for them.
“I think it's hard, too, like, even for managers, I don't know if too many would sign on for them long stints.”
As captain Fox understands the added responsibility and focus. “You get burnt out, you see it there, even myself there, as captain, there's a lot of dealing and stuff with players and all that, the manager has that about five-fold,” he says.
“So, I don't really know how many managers can do it longer than two, three years because they just get burnt out, you know what I mean?
“Organising pitches, organising training, they're getting all the calls from all the players, they're getting all the calls from the county board, and then they're the ones getting the media, then, from the, whatever, if they're going good or bad.”
Ultimately, Fox is focused on delivering in Championship matches for Longford. “We played Wicklow in the league, and look, we'd be the first to admit that we were maybe a bit flat that day,” he recalls.
“So, looking to hopefully put on a better performance in Pearse Park as well, which is great, so hopefully we get a few people there.”
