Padraic Joyce putting the swagger back in Galway football as Tribesmen bid for first All-Ireland title since 2001

Pádraic Joyce was a winner as a player, and set his stall out when he took over as Galway manager.

Shortly after taking charge, he publicly targeted an All-Ireland title during his reign.

"I was asked a simple question; what was my ambition as manager of Galway and I gave an answer. That was the statement of it," he reflects on his 2019 proclamation.

"It is not an unshakable belief. I was asked a question about my ambitions as manager, I was not going to say, 'Well, I am here for the craic, I am here to win a couple of championship games and go as far as I can.'

"Every team does train to win the All-Ireland. They might not say it, but they do train to win the All-Ireland and I was no different. I wanted Galway to win the All-Ireland and I still do, we haven't won anything yet. We are on a journey this year that might help us get there, we are as close as we have ever been.

"I am an honest person and when I have nothing to hide, I will say it. The lads certainly know that as the years go on. That was a question I was asked and I gave an answer to."

Nonetheless, the comment drew traction given that Galway have not claimed the Sam Maguire Cup since 2001, when Joyce himself was playing.

Little did he know 21 years ago that the Tribesmen would be waiting until 2022 to return to an All-Ireland final, or indeed win a knockout championship game at Croke Park.

"I was 24 years of age at the time and I remember having a few pints with John Divilly that week, I was saying to him we'll win another one or two and then retire then at 26 or 27! But it didn't go that way," Joyce recounts.

"I was playing another 11 years after that and didn't even see Croke Park, never mind the colour of an All-Ireland medal. It's not that we were playing bad football, it's just that we weren't good enough as a group, we weren't doing enough as a county to make sure we got there.

"It's a long time since we've been there, a county our size, we shouldn't be that long. Again, it's not for me to fix but we are going some way towards half-sorting it and we'll see where it goes in the future, but definitely it's an area for me. Galway should be getting to an All-Ireland semi-final stage every three or four years at least anyway."

And following his retirement from playing, he always knew the potential was there in the county.

"I have been watching Galway football since I retired. I played against a lot of these fellows. The footballers are there and I always knew they were there," he says.

"There is a lot of work gone into Galway over the last few years at underage; even since Kevin Clancy came in as chairman he put a big emphasis on underage structures.

"It is about developing the county and trying to develop young fellas coming through because we were falling behind, there is no doubt about that. There is no rocket science as to why we have not been involved since 2001 in an All-Ireland final."

And his first two years at the helm were a bumpy ride at times.

"We have had a couple of hammerings in the league, a couple of different things over the years," he continues.

"Definitely the last two years were tough enough when the game was over. No matter what when you lose a game, the first thing you hear is that they were not fit enough and the second thing is that the manager has not got a clue, no matter what game you play and it is no different at intercounty level.

"I have had a few rough nights at it and I had a lot of soul-searching last July as a group, as players and management, there is no one hiding from that. We went away, came back and talked about it and got a different formula put together and so far it has been working, it has been great."

And few lessons were harsher than the 2021 National League defeat to Kerry, as the Kingdom ran out 4-21 to 0-11 winners in Tralee.

"You would be doubting yourself, doubting the way you set-up and why did you do it that way," Joyce says of that defeat.

"It is great when you win a game as a manager, you are a tactical genius and when you lose it you haven't a clue, you know. That is just the way things are said nowadays but you have to look at everything. You have to look at the players, you have and see were they the boys for the fight? Were they the boys for the job? And some were and some weren't. That is the way it was."

Mixing youth with experience

"We have built a new squad and there is a great mix in it, there are young lads and a great mix of experience and youth in it so it is great," Joyce says of the team built over the past three years.

Seven players from the 2020 All-Ireland winning team at the U20 grade have been introduced.

But others are more seasoned.

"[Paul Conroy] has been outstanding, since I came in. I actually played with him, some of the lads when I left in 2008," Joyce details. "His first year was in '08.

"The last three years when I came in, he never missed a training session. Whether it's pre-season, before the season, he doesn't want time off, he's always there. He's a fantastic character in the dressing room. I couldn't speak highly enough of Paul."

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But Joyce is unconcerned whether players are starting out or at the tail end of their career.

"I'm involved in a couple of race horses there with a Kerryman, Mike O'Callaghan up in the Curragh, and I always say to him, it's as easy training young horses as old horses. It's not going to do anything for you!" he outlines.

"It costs the same. Where the young horse might try and get fitter and stronger.

"So I've no problem putting young lads in. I remember years ago Seán Purcell, Lord have mercy on him, after one of the matches, he said if you're good enough, you're old enough. No matter what age you are playing football."

He has full belief in his panel ahead of Sunday's showdown with Kerry:

"They have good forwards. But put our forwards on paper beside the Kerry forwards and you won't see much difference in a lot of them. They've got a couple of marquee forwards, but we have them on our side as well.

"While we have problems to sort them, when Jack [O'Connor] sits down with the Kerry selectors, he'll have a few on his plate as well."

And their status as underdogs does not faze the Killererin man.

"The two All-Irelands we won in 1998 and '01 we were the outsiders of the four come the semi-finals," he says.

"And come the semi-finals again this year we were the outsiders of the four, but it doesn't really matter, we've been underdogs or outsiders in everybody's opinion in every game bar the Leitrim game. People are entitled to their opinions, just because they say something I mightn't want to hear, the person doesn't change for me, at least they have the manners to say what they think and that's fine.

"The bookies now have Kerry at 1-3, that's the choice of the bookies, not my choice, we know where we are at."

Watch Kerry vs Galway in the All-Ireland SFC final live on Sky Sports Arena from 2:30pm Sunday.