New Galway football manager Pádraic Joyce.
By Cian O'Connell
New Galway football manager Pádraic Joyce is targeting immediate success with the maroon and white team.
Joyce, who won All Ireland medals with Galway in 1998 and 2001, is keen to deliver futher silverware 2020.
One of the most respected and admired players to feature for Galway, Joyce, succeeded Kevin Walsh last month.
Now Joyce is planning and plotting for the upcoming Allianz Football League.
"I’m obviously delighted and honoured and privileged to be in the position as Galway senior football manager," Joyce stated in a lengthy interview which was broadcast on Galway Bay Fm.
"It probably came around very fast for me, and a little bit quicker than I anticipated, but the chance came up and I had to really put my name in the hat for it. Thankfully I was successful and just met the lads at the weekend to do some assessing on them to see where they are at.
"But they are a great bunch of guys and we’ll have a development squad in for the next couple of weeks and we’ll see how we get on with that.
"First impressions, I’m delighted to be involved. I’m a Galway man by heart and by nature so we want to do our best for Galway and our aim is to win another All-Ireland – simple as that. Anything less will be seen as an underachievement."
Pádraic Joyce steered Galway to EirGrid Connacht Under 20 Championship glory in 2019.
John Divilly, John Concannon, and Micheal O'Domhnaill will act as selectors, while Michael Comer is involved in a strength and conditioning capacity.
"I know you might say it is favouritism or whatever, but I have John Divilly who I played it and believe it or not, we wouldn’t have been the closest buddies over the years," Joyce added.
"We would have been buddies; and we now work together. I talk to John on the phone for work maybe two or three or four times a day if not five times a day depending.
"John Concannon is involved who is one of the most talented footballers I would have played with up along the line, but unfortunately finished his career quick enough, but it’s great to have those two involved.
"Also Michéal Ó Domhnaill is involved as a coach and played against him when he was with Cararroe in the county final in 1999. He would have been a great club player and he has a different dimension coming to us. He has that club ethic and he will understand all of the players on that side of Galway as well. So it’s a good mix."
The proud Killererin clubman is eager for Galway to deliver in the coming months.
"A successful year one would be to start off winning the FBD league and then go on and win the National league, and then the All-Ireland. That’s our aim – that’s what we are aiming for straight away," Joyce states.
"It might sound far-fetched to a lot of people. I’m not saying we are going to win the All-Ireland in two or three years’ time, we are training for the 30th of August next year. That’s when the final is on, that’s when we are training for. And if we don’t do that, I would see it as disappointment."
