If you’re Brendan Rogers, it helps to have someone like Paul McCormack in your corner.
That’s not to say that Michael McShane, who quit as Sleacht Néill’s hurling manager last winter after nine terrific years, didn’t understand the plight of the dual player.
But McCormack has genuinely walked in Rogers’s shoes as a footballer at the very highest level, who also grew up holding a hurl.
McCormack was part of the Armagh football panel for their first ever All-Ireland win, in 2002, though around Keady the family name is synonymous with hurling.
Paul’s Dad, Jim, also a dual player who played for both Armagh county teams, won nine county hurling titles with Keady and managed the club to several more. Jim’s Dad, Paddy, is from Cloyne in Cork and went to school with Christy Ring, neatly explaining the hurling gene.
Meanwhile, back at Roibeard Eiméid’s, Rogers has been living his own dual life for a couple of decades now. The club has contested eight AIB Ulster club hurling finals in the last 11 years - they will make it nine this Sunday when they face Portaferry in Armagh (5pm) - and Rogers has started every single one of them, scoring 3-11 in all.
So while those outside of Derry will remember him as a legendary footballer, one of the best the county has ever produced and an All-Star, he is a genuine dual star.
“Paul understands it, massively,” said Rogers of the dual bug. “We’ve had a lot more dual sessions now. Paul, being the GAA man he is, he would have come and watched football sessions, knowing that the hurling was on after.
“And if hurling was ever over first, he’d have stayed on to watch the football. He has a watchful eye on everything around the club and that helps him to understand what players’ volume is like, what their skillsets are like, what they’re good at, and he’s keen to see boys flourish in both codes.
“He wouldn’t have just said to focus on hurling only. I think he would have tried to develop the person because he knew it was for the betterment of the club.
“So yeah, it’s good to have that experience there. I think it’s a different dynamic in our club to a lot of others so having that bit of background in both codes definitely makes it a better mix for what we need.”
Rogers has collected four AIB Ulster club hurling titles at this stage, from 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021. The good money is on him and Sleacht Néill making it number five on Sunday.
They’ve already slayed Cushendall, a revenge act of sorts for their December 2023 final loss to the Glensmen, and for many that was the real final given the quality of the extra-time encounter.
Naturally enough Rogers recoils at that sort of talk, as well as references to Sleacht Néill possibly playing the might of Ballygunner in the All-Ireland series.
“I haven’t given that any thought whatsoever,” said the versatile veteran. “We’ve not gotten out of Ulster in the last couple of years so our only focus is to get the win at Ulster level and we’ll worry about whatever comes thereafter.
“I suppose they haven’t won Munster yet either so there are no guarantees and one bad day could change everything. We’ll just look forward to Portaferry and try to bring our best to the game because nothing less will be good enough. I haven’t looked outside this game and I don’t intend to either.”
If Rogers does catch any of his peers glancing towards the All-Ireland series, he will draw their attention to the fact that, like Sleacht Néill, Portaferry drew with Cushendall over the hour only last year.
“It took Neil McManus heroics again in that game, a goal at the death, to take it to extra-time,” said Rogers of that 2023 Ulster semi-final.
“Portaferry could very easily have won that game. So they’re also at that level. I wouldn’t say any game is a walkover at this stage. That’s the level Ulster’s at now. It’s highly competitive and it should be probably a similar enough battle this weekend.”