New Clon football manager Martin O'Brien on his coaching influences

NEW Clonakilty senior football manager Martin O’Brien said a phone call from his predecessor Mike ‘Haulie’ O’Neill ultimately swung his decision towards accepting the managerial role with his former club.

O'Brien, who coached the Kanturk footballers to success in last year’s PIFC title, said the phone call from his former manager helped tilt the balance in favour of Clonakilty. 

“I was delighted to be appointed. On a personal level, it was a huge honour to be asked to get involved with Clonakilty. 

"The reality was it was going to take a role like Clonakilty for me to move from Kanturk because they are a special bunch of players and winners. They are really driven to win. 

"When Clonakilty asked me to get involved, I suppose I took a couple of days to think about it.

“Ultimately, I had a phone call with Haulie which swung my decision in the direction of Clon on his beliefs. He spoke very highly of the group in relation to their abilities. 

"When you look back at the history of Clonakilty GAA, Haulie has been involved in so much over the last few decades with Clon,” he added.

O'Brien, who joined Clonakilty from his native Mallow enjoyed a very successful playing career with his adopted club. This culminated in Martin helping Clon win the senior county final in 2009. He later lined out for Newcestown having moved to the area. 

However, he has great memories of his playing days with Clon. 

I had an amazing time playing with Clon. It was when I was at my happiest playing football. 

"They were so welcoming to me when I first joined. We had a great dressing room. 

"One of the real highlights was getting over early to sing songs with Timmy O’Sullivan in the dressing room and having a laugh. We had a real camaraderie. We had a real special bond in the dressing room. 

"We also had the late Padraigh Griffin which always gave us a chance of winning a game.” 

“I am well aware that Clon has seriously talented players,” said O'Brien. “At the top level, it often comes down to small margins. 

"When Clon last reached the county final in 2021 they were winning games by one point. They were down six points against Duhallow but scored the last seven to win by one point. 

"Last year was the opposite. They were losing games by one point and didn’t get out of their group. 

"That shows the fine margins.” 

Since his retirement, O'Brien has earned a formidable reputation as one of the most promising coaches in the county following successful tenures with the Cork camogie team and various Cork underage football teams such as Newcestown, Mitchelstown, and Kanturk.

The modest coach said a lot of is ‘down’ to luck. 

“I have learned a lot since I retired. There is a lot of it down to luck. 

"I was still playing with Newcestown and they were looking for somebody to help out and we went on to win a county. 

"Paudie Murray then rang me to join the Cork camogie setup.

"That was the biggest transition I went through because I met Kevin Murray. He became a great friend and mentor. I still ring him today to bounce ideas off him. He looks at the game in a different way. 

PHILOSOPHY

"He challenged me in so many ways which helped me grow. I was very fortunate in my coaching infancy to come across Kevin, and we spent three years together. From there you then develop your own philosophy and ideas. 

"I also learned so much from working with Michael O’Brien and the Cork minor footballers. Michael had won a senior county with Ballincollig."

The new Clonakilty senior football said it is vital to give players the forum in the dressing room. 

“I have figured out a lot from the different coaching environments I have worked in. It is vital to give players the forum. I would love to tell you I had a big impact on the Kanturk players, but I don’t think I did. 

"I just presented a different way to solve a problem to a player. 

"When we get to adult coaching, the skills are developed at underage level, our job is to put a framework together to facilitate these guys executing the skills they learned at a young age.” 

O'Brien is conscious of the need to use this year’s league campaign to develop players and build the squad's depth. 

“We have got to look at the league as a conditioning block. We have got to ensure that we build a team robust enough to go through nine league games and get ready for the championship. We need to focus on building our squad depth. 

I want to get 40 adult players playing senior league and junior league games because the more guys you have contributing and playing regularly the better.

“My book of work is to provide an environment these guys can excel in whether that is in the senior or junior league. If the guys are enjoying the environment and enjoying the way they want to play football, the results and wins will follow that. 

"When you are stuck in a losing environment, everything is wrong. When you are in a winning environment, everything is right. 

"All the top teams in Cork have deep squads. We need to ensure we have the same strength in depth."