County managers coaching club teams: A growing trend in GAA?

With a 'split season' implemented in the GAA this year, intercounty players solely focused on the club game throughout the summer months. And the same could be said for some intercounty managers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYt-WxPy-pwWexford boss Davy Fitzgerald coached his club Sixmilebridge as they sealed the Clare SHC title on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Kildare manager David Herity was on the line for Dublin champions Cuala, while Cork coach Ger Cunningham was involved with his club St Finbarr's for the end of their campaign.

With the GAA likely to move towards a split season going forward, is this going to be a more common trend?

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"The majority of these intercounty managers are steeped in club traditions and probably involved in their own club in some way, shape or form," said Jamesie O'Connor, discussing the issue on Inside The Game.

"The demands of the job being what they are in the modern game, it doesn't allow managers the time to be with their clubs or get directly involved with the team.

"Obviously the split season and what happened this year, it's been different. I'm sure Davy has been able to spend more time in Sixmilebridge, on the training field.

"It was a very impressive campaign. They had a good test from Éire Óg in the semi-final. [In the final] they always seemed to be in command, in control, were able to keep the Mills at arm's length, and were pretty comprehensive winners at the finish. Another string to Davy's bow. Obviously now he heads onto Wexford and he'll be looking forward to that campaign with a lot of optimism.

"Time is the big thing. The way this season has panned out, he has probably had time. Other potential managers that might have turned down commitments with their club might look at it differently if that split season were to be the case going forward."

Ollie Canning agreed, but noted a potential conflict of interests if a county manager takes the reins of a club within that county.

"There's probably a situation where, being from Portumna which is on the border of Tipperary, and we're not far from Offaly as well, we have a couple of coaches, managers from Portumna that have coached teams in Tipperary," said the former Galway star.

"We had Johnny Kelly with Tipperary club teams, and he's with the Offaly backroom team as well.

"And Sean Treacy coaching Kiladangan to their breakthrough.

"I think that's the best scenario, if managers can coach club teams in different counties, and then come back in and coach the county team. It might leave maybe a bit of conflict if a coach is in his own county, coaching his club team and then goes on to coach that county team. So I feel myself if you were coaching in a different county, and then go back into your own county, that could possibly work.

"I know that club scenes are very competitive. And when you're going into a county set-up with a coach from another club team, that lead to a bit of controversy."

Watch Inside The Game every Wednesday on Sky Sports Arena. You can catch up on this week's episode on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.