Fáilte chuig gaa.ie - suíomh oifigiúil CLG

Football

football

Colm Collins: 'There aren't many really good coaches'

With Clare opening their 2017 Munster Senior Football Championship campaign this weekend against Limerick, manager Colm Collins talks to GAA.ie about his hopes for the summer ahead.

By John Harrington

If one of the keys of management is to surround yourself with good people, then Clare football manager Colm Collins is a canny operator.

In his four years in charge of the team has appointed four different coaches, all of them very highly regarded – Paudie Kissane, Ephie Fitzgerald, Mick Bohan, and now Alan Flynn.

He regards that as something of a coup, because he believes good coaches are actually a rare enough breed in Gaelic Football.

"It's ironic in a way that our two big games in the country and you could number the amount of really good coaches - there aren't that many in my opinion," said Collins.

"It's the old story of the teacher who writes all the maths books and he can't impart the knowledge to the kids in a class situation. It's much the same thing.

"There are people who are blessed with knowledge of the game but then there is man-management, having a relationship with the people you coach and being able to impart what they have in your head. It's a gift that not many people have.

"But Alan (Flynn) is excellent. We've been blessed with this team because we've had some really good coaches."

A combination of solid management, quality coaching, and talented footballers has seen Clare make major strides forward in recent times by going from Division Four to Division Two of the Leauge and reaching last year’s All-Ireland Quarter-Final.

Collins agrees it was “good to survive” in Division Two of the Allianz Football League this year, but his ambitions for the Banner County go beyond mere survival.

Clare reached the All Ireland SFC Quarter Final under Colm Collins in 2016.

Clare reached the All Ireland SFC Quarter Final under Colm Collins in 2016.

That’s why for him even an achievement such as the rare victory Clare enjoyed over Cork this year in Division Two was “tainted” somewhat by their disappointing end to the League that saw them lose their last three matches, including a final round drubbing by Meath.

“We wouldn't get carried away,” he says. “While it's nice in a sense that from a Clare point of view we haven't beaten Cork often, it's still a league game in March.

“The real business starts now. We must build on what happens, build on the good things.

“The best football display was the day we played Kildare. We played really well that day and did all the things that the coach would have asked you to do. Even though it is ironic we lost the game.

“A lot of the displays in the league were in fits and starts. The consistency that you must get at the higher level - that was missing.”

Based on the relative results of both counties over the last couple of years, Clare should really be too strong for Limerick when they meet in Sunday’s Munster SFC Quarter-Final, but Collins is wary about the challenge the Shannonsiders will pose.

"The beautiful thing about Clare and Limerick and is that one team could be in Division One and the other in Division Four and you can be guaranteed that when they play in championship there won't be a kick of a ball between us," he said.

“You can go back over results in championship between us over a long period of time and that's the way it is. I expect this to be no different. We know each other inside out.

“I don't think any other team in the country knows more about Clare than Limerick. In the last two years we've met twice every year, in league and championship. So the other way around is also true. I think this will be tough.”

It’s unlikely though that Clare will be caught napping. Their rise in recent years has been thanks to a very professional approach, by the players as well as management.

“We've been blessed with players who are very professional,” agrees Collins.

“You get a lot of groups where you get talent. Every county in the country has got talented footballers. The next question is 'will they walk the walk', will they live lifestyles to proceed and do well in football.

“We've been very lucky in football. The vast majority of the players do and especially the leaders of the team have been fantastic. It's the players, that's it.”