Denis Reen on Cork football: It's too comfortable of a set-up, the sleeping giant needs to be awoken

Denis Reen is a person who would be a good judge of the overall picture of Cork football.

The Rathmore native has coached many teams on Leeside over the past decade or so including guiding Kiskeam and Kilshannig to PIFC glory in 2016 and 2024 respectively.

He has also been involved in successful teams over the border in his native Kerry. He recently stepped down as Kilshannig boss after two seasons at the helm.

What does the future hold for him?

“I love football and I love coaching,” he says to The Echo.

“I am currently enjoying a bit of downtime so to speak. I won’t lie to you, I applied for the Waterford football job a couple of months ago. I would love to go another step up. Whether I am good enough for the step up, time will tell. To be honest, I would love to get involved with Cork at underage level.

“I live in Kerry, but I must admit, I have a soft spot for Cork. I have given a lot of time to Cork football over the last 10 years or so.

“Maybe someone in the Cork management be it senior, U20 or minor might look at me in the next few months. I am very passionate about Cork football and that might seem strange coming from a Kerry man. I know the clubs and the players.” 

Reen is frustrated from a neutral point of view when he looks at the overall picture of Cork football.

“I have said this before, Cork is a sleeping giant when it comes to football,” he states.

“The talent is there and the population alone is crazy and they can’t get 30 good footballers in Cork to play for the senior team? The talent is exceptional and I do mean that. I have seen it with my own eyes.

“The right guys are involved for the next two years in John Cleary and his backroom team. You just need to bring in the right players.

“The sleeping giant needs to be awoken now. I know the hurling is flying at the moment in Cork, which is fantastic. I think the football can go just as high as well.” 

There have been many opinions with regards to Cork football and what needs to be fixed, tweaked and so on. The former Kiskeam and Kilshannig boss thinks it's a simple solution.

“I think it’s too comfortable of a set-up in relation to Cork football. You need to be ruthless and you need to be a dominant force inside there. You need to stand up and pick the best 30 footballers and you need to make training a ferocious appetite where the players are biting the head off each other.

“The biggest disappointment was that the All-Ireland success for the minors and U20s in 2019, a lot of them haven’t come through. Where have they gone? Are they even being looked at? Cork were very dominant at underage level for a few years and never kicked on.

“I know hurling is a big pull in Cork and you have rugby and soccer as well, but the sleeping giant has to be awoken. I would love to be the fella that could play a part in that.

“People have to get out of their head that I am a Kerry man. As I said at the start, I have a soft spot for Cork and if an opportunity came around to get involved at underage level with Cork or even senior level, I would snap your hand off.” 

Reen sees his future in Cork despite living in the Kingdom.

“I left my role as manager of Keel a few years ago as I had to be a family man for a while.

“The Kilshannig job then at the start of 2024 came at the right time for me and I spent two wonderful seasons there.

“I do believe my time involved with teams in Kerry is done. I don’t think I’ll ever go back coaching in Kerry again. My focus is on Cork and hopefully the Cork County Board might give me a chance. That is the hope.”