Hard work key to change UtdÕs fortune

Cian O’Connell

In tough times a positive mental attitude is required and it is exactly what John ‘Jumbo’ Brennan is striving to bring to an ailing Galway United outfit now.

Nobody can disguise the fact that 2011 has been a year fraught with financial and footballing problems, but Brennan wants to get back to basics by putting his own, unique stamp on the club. Graft is essentially what is needed and Brennan has promised to strain every sinew by simply getting the utmost out of the players available to him.With a keen knowledge of the local game Brennan is adamant that Galway is blessed with plenty of footballing talent.

“The ability is there, yes, I’m convinced it is there, I’ve seen it all the way along, all the younger age groups, the players there, people are complaining that there are three teams in one county, but for me the players are there.

“Of course I believe it, otherwise I wouldn't go into this job, I don’t want a team of Dublin lads, I want a good local-based team, with a few guys in it with a bit of experience, and that’s how we’ll do it,” was Brennan’s crisp assessment.

“I would be hoping to make a mark, as I said to the boys running the club, I’ll stay for the eight or nine games, I won’t sign a contract for two or three years. I said ‘look, I’ll go on my results. If you want to get somebody better, that’s fine, but I will make this team better’ - that is my aim and I will be doing everything I can to achieve it,” he said.

Brennan will be assisted by another hugely respected figure in Galway sport, Tommy Lally, and they are anxious to develop the youngsters in the squad.

“I’ve been there and done it, the person I’m going to bring in has been there and done it. The best advice we can give to young lads and how to progress them, we will give it. I’ve progressed players with Salthill Devon, internationals, we got players across the water, and that’s what I’m looking to do here, can we get our players to step up to the standard, to the Premier Division standard.

“It’s a great opportunity for me, I’ve always wanted it, I’ve done all the youth structures, I’ve done U-19 for years, I’ve done U-17s, I’ve done U-21s, I’ve done A Championship, I’m well able for it.

“At the UCD match it didn’t bother me, it didn’t faze me, now I can train my team, now I’ll be doing the work on the training pitch and that’s what it’s all about,” he says.

With Bohemians next on Galway’s agenda on Friday week (Terryland Park, kick-off 7.45pm) Brennan is excited about the possibility of being given time and space to make plan for that encounter.

“I don’t think confidence is an issue, I think once I get to work with them now, I’ve got two weeks to get them ready for the Bohs game, it’ll be a totally different team, I’ll have them playing the way I want them to play and nothing against Sean Connor, he was here, he was doing a decent enough job, but that’s the way football is, you don’t last long in these jobs if you’re not getting results.

“It was a positive performance at UCD, the lads played really well, it was just a lack of concentration for the two goals, I mean we conceded two own goals and in those situations there is nothing you can really do.

“We had a tremendous amount of chances in the first half, the boys’ heads didn’t go down. We let them back into the game after they scored their first goal. They shouldn’t have got back in because I thought we played the ball and they were under severe pressure.

“It’s about getting points on the board, and that’s basically it, if we can get points on the board, we were looking to get three points at UCD, but we gave away bad goals. Realistically, we’re going for the playoffs and you know, that’s really the job, any points I can pick up, I’ll take them.”

The worst kept secret in Irish football was eventually made public following Galway's draw with Dundalk last Friday when Sean Connor left the club by mutual consent. Controversial issues over training facilities featured two versions, one from Connor and another from the Management Committee running the club, but the former Galway boss was ultimately unhappy about how he was treated over the last couple of months.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.