Fáilte chuig gaa.ie - suíomh oifigiúil CLG

Football

football

Eoin Cadogan: 'The talking is over, now it's time to perform'

Eoin Cadogan

Eoin Cadogan

By John Harrington

If you’re a Cork footballer, it pays to have a thick skin.

They’ve shipped more criticism from both within and outside their own county from pundits and public alike than arguably any other team in recent years.

Relegation from Division One of the League this year and defeat to Tipperary in the Munster Championship only served to heighten the howls of derision directed their way.

The players as a collective haven’t adopted a siege mentality by choice, they’ve had no other option. But by leaning on each other in a time of crisis, Eoin Cadogan believes their bonds have been strengthened as they prepare for Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC Round 4B Qualifier against Donegal.

“I think we've certainly become tighter as a group even in the last couple of years,” he said. “When you're knocked down and people like to knock you down, the only people you need to I suppose trust in are the people who are putting the work in alongside you.

“And we all know as a group that the fella next to you wants to win as much as you do and you know the amount of commitment and time he puts into it. So, I think we take a small bit of solace in the sense that we are quite tight as a group in general.

“We know the challenges that are facing us and the challenge that's going to face us in Donegal but it's something we're looking forward to.”

Eoin Cadogan in action against Donegal

Eoin Cadogan in action against Donegal

Some of the commentary that has been directed Cork’s way in recent times has been extreme and unfair. Former Kerry footballer Darragh Ó Sé was certainly excessive in his analysis when he wrote in the aftermath of their defeat to Tipperary that the Cork footballers have become immune to shame.

Whatever about being immune to shame, Cadogan steels himself to be resistant to the consistent criticism he’s had to contend with since he started playing with the Cork footballers.

“If he's willing to write that in the paper and put it out to print then that must be Darragh's opinion. But, you know, it's not just Darragh.

“There's loads of former players and former people have different opinions. I'm sure all of ye have different opinions of us at different stages of the year. That's your job. Our job is to go out and perform.

“You know, there tends to be a lot of negativity attached to Cork football. But if you go back to 2008, '09, '10, '11, '12, like, when Cork were doing well reaching the semi-finals, getting to All-Ireland Finals, there was still a huge amount of negativity attached to the squad.

“It was never good enough. We won three National League titles, beaten All-Ireland Finalists in '07 and '09, win it in '10. It (criticism) seems to be par for the course for Cork football.”

Since losing to Tipperary in Munster, Cork have beaten Limerick and Longford in the Qualifiers to on the journey to Saturday’s clash with Donegal.

After the win over Longford, Rebels captain Paul Kerrigan revealed they’d been fired up by an article in a local Cork newspaper that tipped the Midlanders to win the match, and said it was “good to shove it down their throats.”

Paul Kerrigan before the game at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.

Paul Kerrigan before the game at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.

Cadogan wasn’t aware of the article in question, and believes most of Cork’s motivation is self-generated rather than sparked by doubters or critics outside the camp.

“I didn't read it and that's not telling any lies,” he said. “Look, different guys are motivated by different things. The bottom line is that we shouldn't have to go out and prove ourselves to anyone. We should be going out trying to prove ourselves right all of the time.

“I'm a big believer in that. You know, I keep harping on about it, but the amount of work you actually put into it, to not necessarily reflect that in your performances can be quite frustrating.

“But we certainly feel as a group that things are changing. The dynamic of the squad is changing. There's a bit of confidence being built and being able to come back to Croke Park for a Championship game for us as a group is massive. We're really looking forward to grabbing that chance.”

There was a sense after the win over Longford that this much-maligned Cork team had just turned an important corner. They trailed by two points after a desperately poor first-half, but they threw off the shackles in the second and went on to win by six.

There was a decent Cork crowd in attendance and a happy buzz in the ground when the supporters mingled for a long time after the final whistle with their victorious footballers.

“That doesn't go unnoticed within the squad,” says Cadogan. “We don't tend to have a massive following as ye probably know. The people that travelled to Longford that day and waited around afterwards on a performance that was below par really.

“That kind of showed to us that there's people who care about Cork football and that enjoy it. Peadar (Healy) went out to the fans afterwards, people were delighted, they were in a good mind-set, they were positive.

“At the moment Cork tend to be under the microscope and there's a lot of negativity around at the moment. For us to win and to see people actually enjoying the occasion, we haven't seen quite a bit this year in terms of championship games. For us as players, we appreciate that support that we do get.”

Peadar Healy

Peadar Healy

Despite that win over Longford, this Cork team probably still has more doubters than converted in their own county. Cadogan is keenly aware than unless they beat Donegal on Saturday, that’s unlikely to change.

“I suppose ultimately we're only ever going to be judged on who we perform,” he says. “It's very easy to talk about how you want to do, how we do it. But ultimately we're going to be judged on how we go out to play and nothing less than a win is going to do.

“We're fully aware of that as a group. I think that in terms of the people that support us the whole way along, family, friends, the people that are there to pick the phone up after the shit hits the fan on the Monday morning after you've been beaten in championship or when things aren't going well, they're the people you want to repay.

“There's guys in my club when I came through the street league system that are still there doing the same coaching with the same enthusiasm. All those people are helping you, when you go out to represent your county or your club, I think they take a small bit of pride in that.

“It's about giving back as much as possible by performing out there. Not talking about it, talking is over now, it's time to perform.”