BRENDAN ROGERS has backed Rory Gallagher for a return to the inter-county game, admitting that Derry players still feel the love for their former gaffer.
The All-Star midfielder also insists that the players and Mickey Harte’s management must share the blame for the team’s capitulation this year.
Gallagher, who guided the Oak Leafers to a first Ulster SFC title in 24 years, stepped down days before they successfully defended the Anglo-Celt Cup in 2023 after allegations of domestic abuse were levelled against him by his estranged wife Nicola.
Gallagher strenuously denies the allegations and no prosecutions have ever been brought against him.
Last February, a temporary barring order from GAA activity was lifted when the Disputes Resolution Authority ruled in his favour.
He was recently linked with a return to the Derry post following the departure of Harte, only for Foyleside chiefs to hand the role to Paddy Tally.
But Rogers said: “It’s not wrong to say that a lot of players would have an affection to how Rory Gallagher coached us. Ultimately he did get us all our kind of senior success.
“There’s a love for how he treated the players and they got on very well with him, so I would imagine that’s where the speculation came from.
“I don’t think any player that played under him thought that he wasn’t a good coach or good at what he did and very impressionable with the players.
“In terms of the speculation, I think there was a lot of ‘apparentlys’ and ‘supposedlys’ and ‘heard from a good source’ type conversations.
“What went on in the background, we’re not overly privy as to whether the consideration was there or not.
“But would he have been a good coach for us again? Absolutely. The man’s IQ for football is phenomenal, but it just wasn’t to be. I guess that’s part of the committee and executives to make that decision.
“But of course there’s a love for him. He’s someone who brings you success and developed a lot of our players into the players that we are.
“Even myself, he transitioned me from full-back to midfield and it’s gone OK so far.
“Yeah, there are things to be liked but it wasn’t to be this year and I think the players can just understand that and move on.”
Gallagher revealed that he ‘fully intends to return to inter-county management in the near future’ in a statement issued by his solicitor in September.
And Rogers said: “I can’t see why he wouldn’t. There have been a lot of things that went on in the background and that’s his personal life, but he’s very capable of being an inter-county manager.
“He has one of the best IQs in the game so I’d be very surprised if somewhere down the line he didn’t get an inter-county post because life has to move on as well too.”
Tally was recently appointed to the Derry hotseat after Harte’s reign unravelled despite a promising start that yielded National League success.
A comprehensive loss to Donegal ended their hopes of a provincial three-in-a-row, before an All-Ireland campaign that included defeats to Galway, Armagh and Kerry.
Rogers reflected: “I suppose we set out our stall to play a certain way that we thought would hurt Donegal. Like all games, you’re aware of the risk and reward and we got caught in the risk the first time.
“The game had gotten away from us where we had to keep pressing on the risks to try to get ourselves back into the game but it didn’t work out for us on the day.
“Things after that, maybe injuries at a bad time, sending-offs and things like that, we were ending up mixing and matching things too much and guys were playing maybe not fit.
“Not to use excuses but we were trying to do our bit but it just didn’t work out. Maybe if we had played a bit smarter, we could have done better. I think both players and management would be holding their hands up and saying maybe we made mistakes.
“I think that’s a hard learning curve to take but maybe an invaluable one for us. I suppose a big one is maybe learning mid-game how to handle that rather than waiting for the reflection. From looking back on those games, we’ve maybe identified those points.”
FALSE HOPE
Derry appeared to have made progress under Harte when they enhanced their credentials as a legitimate All-Ireland contender by beating Dublin in the Division 1 decider.
Rogers added: “I don’t think it was a case that players just switched off to management after winning the National League. Nothing like that happened.
“You still have an admiration for what they brought to us and those things. But I still think there were too many variables around, did we execute on the pitch the way we should have? And maybe the management takes the flak for it.
“Were our tactics perfect? I don’t think anyone’s tactics are perfect all the time. There’s so much variability and change that the players have to deal with and maybe we didn’t do that well enough.
“Was everybody’s bodies right going on the pitch? There were so many things that could have went on that both players and management would have said that we’d have done things better.
“It looks like the wheels fell off the wagon and that things fell apart, but that wasn’t the case. I just think we did a few things wrong at critical times and we were punished heavily by very good teams and very organised teams.”
Rogers conceded that Derry, in their first season back in the top tier for seven years, may have paid the price for investing too heavily in their run to the NFL title.
He said: “I suppose we wanted to prove ourselves that we could consistently perform at Division 1 level. Maybe we put too much emphasis on that and we got something to learn for next year to strike that balance.”
Rogers is enthused about the prospect of working under Tally, who was a member of Brian McIver’s backroom staff when the Slaughtneil man made his debut in 2015.
Asked about the Tyrone native, who has spent the past three years coaching Kerry, he said: “Paddy probably gets lauded for his defensive credibility – and rightly so – but nobody gives him credit for how to get out of a defensive system.
“There’s a transition play there and I think he’s really good at that, which complemented what Kerry had. They had a certain type of player that could transition well and they primarily used the kick pass. But the transition allowed David [Clifford] to get more one-v-ones.
“It’s not to say that Derry are going to play defensive with Paddy Tally and that narrative. But what he could actually do is help make us a better transitioning team to give the likes of Shane McGuigan far more one-on-ones.
“I’m excited to see what he’s learned from the last time he was with us. He’s clearly seen something in us that made him want to take the job in the first place and for me that’s exciting.”
BRENDAN ROGERS is an ambassador for the GOAL Mile. Members of the public who register for the GOAL Mile could win one of the ten €1,000 prizes for their GAA, camogie or LGFA club by registering for the AIB GAA GOAL Mile competition at www.aibgaagoalmile2024.com
