United boss sets off on long road to recovery

NEW Galway United manager John Brennan has a number of changes he wants to see at the club, from wage structures to the attitude of players, but the first change he wants to see is in relation to his own name – to be referred to by his name, rather than his nickname.

Brennan is immediately identifiable to League of Ireland supporters throughout the country by his nickname ‘Jumbo’, but he says he wants to draw a line between ‘Jumbo’ Brennan the player, and John Brennan the manager.

“I got the nickname in school in St Enda’s from Raymo O’Brien and Mike Clancy, I’ve no idea why but they started calling me ‘Jumbo’ and it stuck. That was okay in school and as a player, but I’m a manager now, and I’m John Brennan the manager,” he explains.

He’s not forceful on that matter, but it is a different story in relation to the infrastructure – or rather, the lack of it – at the club.

“Every club in Galway has their own pitch, they either own it, or it is a Council pitch, but it is theirs to use and look after. Every club, that is, except Galway United, the top club in Galway. I mean, think about it, that is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” says the man who is third on Galway United’s scoring chart, having hit 49 goals in three spells at the club.

“I want to build a structure here, I want to put underage teams in place and compete locally, but it would be madness to do that when you don’t even have a pitch. That is something that needs to be addressed, someone needs to make a decision to put a certain amount of money aside every week with the intention of developing training facilities,” he says.

We meet in the manager’s ‘office’ in Terryland Park, the most Spartan of rooms in a portakabin which features nothing more than a bare desk, a grey filing cabinet and a worn red carpet, but Brennan doesn’t seem to mind, and he speaks with an infectious enthusiasm about the challenges he faces with the club.

It is no secret that United are financially crippled, so how does Brennan see things panning out over the next few years?

“I want to look at scholarships, get players jobs, onto FAS courses, those kind of things that will cut down the wage bill, it’s a more sustainable model. Have players on an amateur basis, but offer them incentives, there’s got to be bonuses, a bonus for a league finish, for scoring 10 goals, the carrot of a professional contract, that kind of thing,” he explains.

Brennan was appointed as caretaker manager in September following the departure of Sean Connor, and was last week named as full-time manager for the 2012 season, becoming the 21st manager to take charge of the club.

That spell saw him take charge of the team for the final regular season games, and the two-leg promotion/relegation play-off with Monaghan United, with United losing all nine games. Did that dreadful run not put him off taking on the role in a permanent capacity?

“I thought about it, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but the way I look at it, I know the players I want to bring in, and they’ll play the way I want them to. The players have to have the right attitude, they have to have passion, they have to have commitment, they have to have pride in playing for this club. lf I get that, we’ll be on the right track.“You need to get discipline and attitude right from the start. I h

ave no problem with people making mistakes, we all make mistakes, but it is how you react to those mistakes, you have to learn from them and not make them again,” he says.

During the course of our chat, he mentions the need for commitment and pride a number of times, and his focus on those two traits is little surprise when he reveals his own biggest regret from his playing career.

“I joined Sligo Rovers for the 1994/95 season, and it was a disaster. I was living in Galway and was supposed to train during the week, but I just didn’t bother. I’d always find an excuse – my foot was a bit sore, I’d train twice as hard tomorrow, it was raining, that kind of thing. I moved to Shamrock Rovers half way through the season, but I just wasn’t fit. So yeah, that was my biggest regret. I wasted a season because I was just bloody lazy,” he says.

Brennan joined Galway United for the 1991/92 season, and finished the season with six goals to his name in a campaign that saw United relegated after finishing bottom of the 12-team Premier Division. His next two seasons were far more productive, as he finished as the club’s top scorer with 14 goals in the 1992/93 season, as United bounced straight back in winning the First Division title.

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