Little time for Baker to settle in as an inter-county manager

The ongoing search for a senior football manager in Offaly continues to dominate the headlines, even if there remains little or nothing to report, other than the sound of one candidate after another declaring their lack of interest and the frustrated retirement of Niall McNamee in response to the lack of progress. Only time will tell how this situation will resolve itself and if the Rhode forward can be convinced to go back on his decision and return to the field of play, but further speculation at this point serves nobody well, so all we can add to the situation is that hopefully there will be more progress to report this time next week. This unfortunate situation has also resulted in Ollie Baker's installation as senior hurling manager fading away into the background within a few days of the announcement, particularly on the national scene. Jimmy Barry Murphy, John Allen, Teddy McCarthy, Michael Ryan and Davy Fitzgerald have all been installed into new positions as well and thus there has been plenty of activity on the managerial merry go round, while senior vacancies remain unfilled in Wexford and Galway. Understandably, due to the absence of any high profile managerial work by Baker in the past, reaction to his appointment all across the county has been equivocal. The need for a change of direction was widely accepted, but there is some concern that the Clare native is using the Offaly job as an apprenticeship, a means of learning his trade before moving on to bigger things. Indeed in many cases, that would not necessarily be a bad thing. It would be naïve to assume that managing Offaly is the pinnacle of achievement in the hurling game, at least until the horrendous record of eight years without a quarter-final appearance is broken, and a young manager with energy and a willingness to adapt to his surroundings could have a lot to offer. However the danger here is that it takes a year or two for Baker to realise the scale of the challenge facing him and to develop the tools to handle the task of making real progress with the Offaly hurlers. Unless you take over Kilkenny, Tipperary or Cork, it is usually customary to come out with some trite comments about building for the future, and talk of a three or four year plan. The problem in Offaly right now is that if Ollie Baker was to stay in this role for four seasons, it's utterly plausible that 2012 could be his best chance of meaningful success. Most of his key men are in their mid twenties and at the peak of their careers, Coolderry and Birr between them offered up more than a few prospects in a competitive county final, while minor results from the last couple of seasons suggest that other counties have many more hot prospects coming on the scene in their medium term future than Offaly. Of course it is that lack of underage success that could have helped point the county board in Baker's direction in the first place. Famously, the St Joseph's, Doora-Barefield midfielder who went on to All-Ireland glory at club and county level couldn't get on the school senior team when he was attending St Flannan's in Ennis, while he was never endowed with the natural gifts of his contemporaries; men like Johnny Pilkington, Ciarán Carey, Adrian Fenlon and Tony Browne, all of whom hurled at midfield against Baker at various stages. Instead he brought his ferocious work ethic and will to win to bear on his game and while he continued to be a force of nature on the field of play, few people gave him credit for the improvements in his technique and skill level that manifested over the course of his career. While there are some technically strong young hurlers in Offaly right now, the results don't suggest that there is a golden generation coming up through the ranks. The only way that those hurlers currently in their late teens will make an impact on the senior stage is if they show the same tenacity and persistence that embodied Ollie Baker as a hurler. The younger generation in Offaly didn't need a former stylist who would primarily look for naturally gifted players, they needed someone who could identify that willingness to do what it takes to get to the next level. Above all, Offaly need a manager who can convey to the players the importance of adapting to the modern game, and prioritising the skills that are most valuable to an inter-county hurler today. Anyone watching the hurling/shinty compromise rules test either in Athy or on TG4 last week would have seen a wonderfully engaging contest where the ban on handling the sliotar made for a fast paced and very attractive game to watch. The ground hurling fanatics in Offaly would have enjoyed the game immensely, as clever flicks and whips yielded great dividends. The only problem is that the very reason that the Irish players can't catch the ball is because it gives them too much of an advantage. It's all very well to say that ground hurling is a nicer style of play to watch, but that's utterly irrelevant to Ollie Baker and the Offaly hurlers who crave success. Possession is the key to success in the modern game, and until the rules or the interpretation of them changes, that will remain the case. The last time the Offaly county board attempted to marry the traditional Clare zeal with the more languid approach of the Offaly hurlers, it ended with Mike MacNamara leaving, having overseen the county's relegation to division two. Above all else, communication will be a huge issue for Ollie Baker in this role. It's one thing to have a burning desire to win, it's yet another to impart that message to other people and it's quite another thing again to get them to buy into it. If that gap can be bridged, then this could be the beginning of a wonderful partnership. As a garda, Ollie has spent plenty of time communicating, cajoling, reprimanding and directing the people of the midlands. Let's hope that role was his apprenticeship and that those skills can be translated to the hurling field. There are too many good hurlers in Offaly running out of peak years for the county to take time bedding in a new man, no matter how fresh onto the inter-county scene he may be.