TYRONE county secretary Dominic McCaughey has urged clubs to recruit from within when appointing managers and coaches.
He will deliver a strong message to delegates at today's annual convention, with a call for an end to the long established but increasingly common practice of hiring managers from other clubs, often from outside the county.
McCaughey believes local knowledge is an asset that is being lost to many clubs. And he called for restrictions to be placed on the use of outsides coaches.
“There is a lot of merit in the view that the team coach/trainer should come from within the club and that, with his local knowledge, he should be better placed to know what the realistic targets for the club’s teams are, in a given season; also, that there should be a restriction placed on clubs in the use of coaches/trainers from outside units,” he says.
“For those who argue that their club doesn’t have the personnel to do so, it can be pointed out that every county and province is providing excellent coaching courses for club members to avail of. Let each club train, and retain, its own.”
Meanwhile, McCaughey has claimed poor refereeing by Maurice Deegan cost the county a place in this year’s All-Ireland final.
He asserts that the Meath official made a number of poor decisions which went against the Red Hands during an intense semi-final clash with fierce rivals Kerry at Croke Park last August.
“Tyrone displayed outstanding skill, fierce determination and relentless intensity but the inability to convert several goal opportunities and a number of missed free-kicks, together with a few highly-questionable refereeing decisions resulted in a very narrow defeat,” he says.
“In an engrossing opening half the teams were evenly matched with Kerry edging ahead 0-8 to 0-7 in added time.”
And McCaughey claims Deegan failed to award a clear penalty to Tyrone in the crucial closing stages.
“The Munster champions opened out a four point lead in the third quarter but the sides were level once again with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
“In the closing stages of the game, the failure to award a penalty to the Red Hands for a clear foul ensured the opportunity of appearing in a first final since 2008 slipped away, for another year.
“The Munster champions opened out a four-point lead in the third quarter but the sides were level once again with eight minutes of normal time remaining.”
The county secretary paid tribute to the players for the supreme effort and commitment which saw them recover from the despair of relegation to get to within touching distance of an All-Ireland final.
“Appreciation is due to the full panel of players who donned the county jersey in 2015 for their enormous contribution of time and work, in training and preparation for games, during another lengthy season, with little success but very significant progress.
“Once again we express our gratitude to Mickey Harte and his management team for their time, their effort and their commitment to the senior county footballers of Tyrone.
“We extend our appreciation to Tony Donnelly who stepped back into the managerial role for the National League fixture with Kerry when Mickey was indisposed.
“Congratulations is due to Niall Morgan, Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly on their selection for the Ireland team that defeated Australia in the International Rules Test Match in Croke Park last month, bringing the Cormac McAnallen Cup back to its homeland.
“And finally, we acknowledge the achievement of Mattie Donnelly in receiving the county’s only All-Star award for his performances in 2015.”
