Roscommon Under 20 manager Liam Tully.
By Cian O’Connell
For the past couple of decades significant weight has been placed on underage development in Roscommon.
The next generation always needs to be minded and that is a policy that Liam Tully has sought to follow throughout his management days.
Bringing this current crop to the inaugural All Ireland Under 17 final three years ago suggested that Roscommon were eager to make a mark again. So reaching an EirGrid Connacht Under 20 Championship decider against Galway brings a sense of satisfaction.
Roscommon are remaining relevant. That is a source of optimism. In 10 provincial Under 21 Championships between 2007 and 2016 Roscommon contested nine finals, winning four and reaching two All Ireland deciders. The vast majority of the present senior panel were crafted during that encouraging spell.
Now the task is to sustain Roscommon into the future. For Tully assisting young footballers is key. “Absolutely, there is satisfaction in it and that is a great thing to be watching, these lads want to get better and want to be playing,” Tully says ahead of Saturday’s Tuam Stadium tussle with Galway.
“You want them to develop their game as well as they develop themselves as people. It isn't all about playing and winning. Of course we all go out when you put on a jersey or on the sideline, we want to win and do the best we can, to let each player give the best performance that he can on the day.
“To see them develop as people as well as players is lovely to see. This is a lovely group of young players, a lovely group of young men, all of the management are relishing that.”
Before Fergal O’Donnell’s All Ireland minor winning crop in 2006 Roscommon had endured plenty of harrowing losses in the west. Mayo and Galway usually set the standard, but now Roscommon believe.
Roscommon were beaten by Tyrone in 2017 the All Ireland Under 17 Final at Croke Park.
“You have to be competing against the top teams in Galway and Mayo,” Tully admits. “Not taking anything away from Sligo or Leitrim.
“Sligo gave us lots of it and they probably found themselves unfortunate not to get over us. They are doing a lot of work. Roscommon have to be competing with those teams. A lot of work is being done on development in Roscommon.
“Sometimes it just mightn't work out on a day, you lose sight of that. The work still goes on. There is a huge amount of people coaching and bringing lads along.
“It is good to be part of a group of lads that have been brought along. I was with these lads, other people were too. Loads of people have a contribution made and their clubs also have a major contribution made to the development of these young men.”
Ultimately Tully believes the game in Roscommon is in decent health. Roscommon are respected throughout the country with Tully stressing the importance of sheer hard graft.
“It is in a better place and that is because of the work that is being put in,” Tully remarks. “There is a good structure in place, there is always room for improvement and if there wasn't it would be a disaster.
“You'd have nothing to maybe grumble about. There is room for improvement with maybe facilities and stuff like that, but we will work on that.
“It is good that on the field of play that we are competitive and there has been work done. Hopefully on Saturday we will be competitive in this game.”
Donie Shine celebrates following Roscommon's 2006 All Ireland minor final replay win over Kerry at Cusack Park, Ennis.
Stitching a team together is a task Tully continues to enjoy. Since the 2017 All Ireland Under 17 final Croke Park appearance there has been a natural evolution in the panel.
“You have a lot of them that are there, but we also have a lot of new additions, who came the two years after,” Tully remarks.
“They have blended in very well, they have mixed well, it is a good group of lads. They love playing football so there is lots of craic and fun at training. There is serious stuff too, but it is all good, they are a good group of lads.”
That is why Tully has taken so much pleasure out of trying to help Roscommon prosper. Satisfaction can be derived from being involved at inter-county level.
“It is basically down to the players and how they work when they start off in development,” Tully comments. “It is about how you progress with them, to give them the belief that they can be as good as anybody else, that they can compete against anybody else.
“That is the important thing. Also to enjoy what they are doing which is a very important part of what we would be looking at as a management and even previous managements I was involved with.
“We emphasised that there is life with football. You can enjoy football too. That is one of the things we have tried to do.”
Tuam Stadium is the next stop on the journey.
