Candid Canning avoids clichés as Pearses seek Connacht title

By Kevin Egan

It sometimes feels that one of the byproducts of how Gaelic football has evolved has been a real disconnect between supporters in the stands, and the new generation of modern coaches and analysts on the sideline.

Nowhere is this more evident than in low-scoring arm-wrestles like the recent Connacht semi-finals, where Pádraig Pearses scored 0-13 and the other three teams scored 0-21 between them, despite the fact that the other semi-final went to extra-time.

Controlling the clock, closing out the game, managing possession, all of the usual clichés were no doubt out in force on the Mohill, Ballina and Coolera-Strandhill sidelines. Not so much in Pearses, where Frank Canning talks about the game like he’s one of those fans, just crying out for more direct play.

“The second half score of ten points to one tells its own story,” he said. “It was only when we went three points up that they knew at that stage they had to come out and play a bit of football.

“Up to that, it was frustrating on the sideline, it was frustrating on the field and no doubt it was frustrating in the stands. So when we got to three points ahead, that's when the game opened up and maybe our quality showed at that stage.

“I know Pearses are seen as a defensive team, but we work really, really hard on trying to move the ball and move it properly. We can be as defensive as anyone, but we want to attack. I’m a big believer in it, so is Ross (Munnelly), Niall Finneran and everyone involved. We all want to go out and win a football match and try and win it in a nice way as well.

“Myself, fine, we could win the Connacht final on Sunday, 8 points to 7 or something, but if you're going down the road winning a slugfest and you're thinking, ‘oh we broke them down' and so on, that just doesn't sit with me.”

A certain question has to be asked, considering the man on the other side of the table is – up to now at least – much more well known for his exploits as a player and manager with Portumna in the small ball code. Is it his hurling background that makes that type of football so hard for him to bear?

“The best team nearly always wins a hurling match because you can score from 60-70 yards out. In hurling if you see a team put a sweeper in, they're nearly giving up before you start. But in football, if they put in a sweeper or they put everyone behind the ball, that's the system they play in.

“What I find to be a very frustrating element of football is that 15-16 points wins most games, so that's seven or eight a half. So when the team puts 15 behind the ball or 14 and the goalie or whatever, it limits you to maybe 3 or 4 points. So then a goal for them on a breakaway, suddenly that's half the game gone. They get lucky with one break to get a goal and suddenly all your hard work is wiped out. So that's where it's a great leveller and an eye-opener sometimes.”

When it comes to breaking down the opposition, Frank’s approach here too is what would be described by a lot of people as ‘old school’. In preparing for Sunday's clash with Coolera-Strandhill (Markievicz Park, 1.15pm), most opponents would be laser-focused on Niall Murphy, a footballer that many supporters would argue is the best forward to come out of Sligo since Mickey Kearins.

“The more you worry about them the more you build them up and then psychologically they turn into something that they're not,” he declares.

“If you start building up a fella and you're marking him on Sunday and the next thing you know he kicks two points, then you think ‘Jesus, what they're telling me is the truth!'

“The reality is you have to go out and believe in yourself. It's logical to me, every GAA team should go out and believe that they're going to win," he added.

Whether it’s his hurling background, or just Frank being Frank, both with an uppercase and lowercase F, the result is the same. He might be a successful football coach with a glorious chance to add a Connacht title to the Fahey Cup victory of last month, but groupthink won’t interfere with Canning’s thoughts at any stage this week, or at all, it seems.