Inniskeen manager John McEntee. Photo by Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile
By Cian O’Connell
“What I learned is that you can't impose your style on another team - it just doesn't work, it is as simple as that,” Inniskeen manager John McEntee replies when asked about the challenge of working with new clubs.
A central figure in Crossmaglen Rangers’ decorated footballing success story as a player and coach, McEntee has subsequently won a Monaghan SFC title with Clontibret in 2019.
Now McEntee is in charge of Inniskeen, who contest a first decider since 1990 at St Tiernach’s Park on Sunday against bluebloods Scotstown.
“Cross spent generations trying to get the way they play football,” McEntee explains. “While the club (Inniskeen) isn't far away from my own club, it is only 10 or 15 minutes up the road, they have a different style and a different way of playing football. It isn't in my nature to enforce a different style on a team.
“I basically want to sort of tinker with the systems that are in place. For an outside manager coming in you're only there for a certain amount of time, you want to establish maybe different cultures and practices, better ways of working, to give them the best opportunity to be the best version of themselves.
“That is the way I work, it is about making them a better team, not imposing my ways, it is about them.”
Is it an approach McEntee adopted easily away from Cross? “The GAA is a small place and you maybe try to learn from other people's mistakes,” McEntee responds.
“I've seen other people, who have gone different places and it just hasn't worked out. Finishing county football and coming into the club scene is a huge challenge.
"There is such a degree of professionalism around the inter-county scene, that level of commitment can't be replicated at club level.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice, Kerry, and John McEntee, Armagh, in action during the 2002 All-Ireland SFC Final at Croke Park. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
“Club footballers are doing this part-time, county football takes over your life. Club footballers have a life, they have serious work commitments and serious family commitments. They do all that alongside playing football.
“So you can't apply the same ideas or philosophies that you would have done as an inter-county footballer on to a club team. I've seen that from other fellas, who have tried and failed. I'm not faulting anybody or being critical of anybody, that is just the reality of what happens.”
Being adaptable is critical according to McEntee. “I've tried and it isn't easy, you try not to make them 15 players like yourself - that doesn't work,” he adds.
“You go in with the experience and knowledge you've gained, ways to work, and just try to improve them as a unit, to make them a better team. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
“Success isn't always about winning, only one team can win every year. It is about leaving them in a better place than when you found them.
"That is something you are working with the club and committee, to understand what it is they want out of your term. That is how I work.”
McEntee’s passion for the game endures. Being integrated into a high class Crossmaglen set-up aided his sporting journey, while he was also a key performer during a golden spell for Armagh too. Gaelic Football still matters deeply to McEntee.
“I love football, it is one of the few sports I watch and am committed to,” McEntee says. “Absolutely if I didn't get enjoyment out of it I wouldn't be doing it. I suppose I'd describe myself as a life long Gael, as somebody committed to the ideals of the Association.
“I've got great enjoyment with some other clubs, of course I get great enjoyment in my own club, but seeing the volunteerism and efforts people put in to keep the games alive in different areas.
John McEntee and Oisín McConville pictured before the 2015 Armagh SFC Final. Photo by Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
“When you tap into that it gives me the motivation that I need to work with those clubs. Hopefully the players can see the sacrifices people have made to try to give them Gaelic Games in the area.
“That is the kick I get out of it, trying to keep the games alive, to see how you can help and support other people.”
Undoubtedly, the excitement in Inniskeen is something to be embraced. McEntee is content to have forged a connection with the progressive outfit.
“For a club that is so passionate about their football and has a great stadium and everything, it is such a long time,” he says about returning to the Monaghan showpiece.
“They are delighted. For a few years they had success at Intermediate level, so they are pleased. Senior Football is quite competitive in Monaghan.
“For a number of years they yo-yoed up and down, but in the past six or seven years they have managed to stay up. It has given them a good platform to be competitive in the senior grade.
“A lot of it sometimes comes down to luck and timing. They have been knocking on the door, a top four team for the last two or three years. Thankfully they've managed to make the breakthrough to get to the final.
“Again Monaghan is incredibly competitive, sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn't. I've just been fortunate that when I've been over them this year we've got through to the final.”
Another demanding examination awaits. McEntee wouldn’t have it any other way.
