‘Players have to be able to adapt’ - St Brigid’s manager

Having previously worked as a banker, and now working as a special needs assistant, Jerome Stack knows a fair bit about adaptability.

And adaptability is clearly something the St Brigid’s manager puts considerable emphasis on when it comes to football.

There is an understandable view that the way St Brigid’s played in the first half of their All-Ireland semi-final win over Castlehaven is the sort of football that could really trouble final opponents Glen. When this was put to Stack at last week’s press function, he responded: “An awful lot depends on the opposition. Against another opposition, you could try to play that way but they might close you down. I keep saying that you have to be able to adapt. People talk about plan A, B and C, nobody has that, though they might say they have.

“It’s about making good decisions regularly on the pitch, depending on what’s in front of you. When it works, people think you have a masterplan and when it doesn’t, people think you’re a dunce. It’s probably somewhere in between.

“Croke Park would lend itself to playing football like that. Everybody thinks ‘you should play this way’ - we might want to play that day but it might not work out due to the opposition, the conditions, the referee, different things.”

Accepting that there was an expectation that Brigid’s would be “there or thereabouts in Roscommon”, Stack initially didn’t look any further at the outset of the season.

“County championships are very difficult to win, no matter what county you’re in, but I expected or hoped that we’d be in the shake-up in Roscommon. I knew the tradition and I had done a small little bit of research and I knew they were younger players coming through,” he said.

But he acknowledged that he didn’t have to say much in order to motivate his players for an assault on the Connacht championship. The tradition of what Brigid’s have done outside their own county in the past and the culture within the club came to the fore.

“Last year (2022) we were very disappointed with the way it finished. We were beaten on the day fairly by Boyle, but I would have felt there was unfinished business to do with that. As regards the second year when we won, we got that bit of luck against Boyle that I felt they got against us the previous year.

“The minute we won the county final, I didn’t have to go twisting anybody’s arm to get them ready to play the Connacht championship. That wouldn’t necessarily be the same in other places, but here it wasn’t the end of the players’ ambitions which was crucial,” he said.

“That’s to do with the club and the history of the club. Expectation is a hard thing but it’s also a great thing. In other places you’d be celebrating winning a county championship for months afterwards. I’ve been there and that’s great. But here it was seen as an opportunity by the players and the reason for that is because of what has been created by all the people belonging to the different teams.”

Conor Cox has made the move from Kerry to Roscommon as a player, and Stack – who hails from the same club (Listowel Emmets) as Cox - has done likewise as a manager. He lives in Adare so the journey to Kiltoom is not quite as far as Listowel, yet it’s still a considerable distance.

“I love being involved in football, especially if you give me an opportunity with a team which I think has the right attitude or which has potential,” he said.

“I’m not saying I’d go anywhere, but I’ve probably gone to a few places that maybe my wife wouldn’t be too happy with! The journey is shorter when you have players who want to play. It’s necessary to be a little bit adaptable; that’s just the way it is.”

Sunday’s final is a novel pairing with no past history or previous meetings between the teams.

“Obviously Glen have come to real prominence all over the country in the last two or three years. They have obviously put a huge amount of work into the club. They’ve come from a really good underage set-up and they are consistent and have done it over three years which is very difficult,” said Stack.

“The hard thing about club football in comparison to county football is that it’s far more difficult to have a read on standards and players. The standard could be deceiving when you go to a match because it depends on what you’re playing against. The only fellas that you really see is the lads playing inter-county football. It’s a difficult one but it’s no different for them.”

Furthermore, Glen’s semi-final win over Kilmacud Crokes was notorious for the thick fog that made it almost impossible for those watching to discern what was going on. “What they did last year gives them a great platform, but at least we can see the games they played,” said Stack.

There is a view that suggests Glen have to be considered warm favourites, having gone so close last year and having defeated last year’s champions in their semi-final.

“I can see where that would come from. None of those things are in our control. What’s in our control is how we go about our business and how we prepare,” responded Stack.

“We’ve been favourites in most of the games we played in Roscommon. Boyle obviously gave us a very sticky game. In Connacht against Mohill we were odds-on and they gave us a really sticky game. Corofin were favourites to beat us and we beat them.

“Glen are favourites for a reason; they were there last year. Whether we were favourites or not during the year didn’t make a whole pile of difference to me.”

Some people would argue that the short gap of just two weeks between the semi-final and final might suit the young players in the Brigid’s camp. In any case, Stack has no issue with the timeframe.

“There was no way it could be any different. I’m not having a go over fixtures or anything. We had five weeks between the Connacht final and the last day and Castlehaven had four. That’s too long but I don’t think there was any different way of doing it as players have to have a Christmas, but two weeks is a better lead-in period provided we can avoid injuries.”

As for playing such important games at a time when the potential for bad weather is high, Stack took a philosophical view.

“They have to be played some time and it’s a hugely difficult question if you take in all the different variables. County football is always going to take precedence as regards when it’s played. That has to be the way, that’s where the bigger numbers and revenue is going to come,” he remarked.

“In our game (the semi-final), half the pitch was a bit slippy but the underfoot conditions were good. The Connacht final was played on a great day and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that the next day will be a good day.”

Stack agrees with the view that there is no going back to playing the All-Ireland club finals on St Patrick’s Day.

“It was a fantastic occasion having it on that day and I can understand that. But in the bigger scheme of things, the season would be nearly a year and a quarter. The day itself suited the occasion but it (the season) was too long.”

Stack has had a varied background in football. He was involved in winning senior championships in Kerry with Feale Rangers (a divisional team) and in Limerick with Dromcollogher/Broadford. He was part of the Kerry U-21 management when they won the 2008 All-Ireland title. The Listowel native was involved in senior management set-ups with Laois (alongside both former Westmeath manager Tomás Ó Flatharta and John Sugrue) and Limerick.

Therefore, he’s well placed to consider the demands being placed on club and county players at present.

“If you want to play serious football at club level, you’ve got to mind yourself off the pitch. You’ve got to be sensible, no more than that,” he said.

“For county players the split season is very difficult. I’d love to see our fells and the Glen lads involved with Derry get a month off (after the final), but knowing the men involved, they may not want it because they don’t want to let their team down. Conor Glass and other lads went straight back with Derry last year.”

The subject of county players neatly leads to the consistent excellence of Roscommon stars Brian Stack and Ben O’Carroll which has been central to Brigid’s success this season.

“They have been immense all year as have Eddie (Nolan), Shane Cunnane, Ruaidhrí Fallon, all those fellas. Ben is a special talent, there is no other way of describing it, but there were other fellas involved and chipping in the last day. Ben will stand out; he is a senior inter-county footballer,” said Stack.

As for the current state of Gaelic football, Stack agreed that it can leave a lot to be desired as a spectacle.

“For those watching or attending games, it wouldn’t have the same enjoyment factor. People want to see skilful play and great moves but most teams are trying to stop that,” he said.

Accepting that games can become “a bit of cat and mouse”, he said: “Potentially they may have to consider a change in the rules that would keep a set number of players in a forward line or in the other half. But I have enough on my plate at the moment to figure it out for them.”

Stack can remember watching the 2013 club final as a supporter, a day when Brigid’s produced an epic comeback to edge out Ballymun Kickhams.

“Brigid’s were under the cosh and quite a bit behind and managed to come back. Maybe that shows a bit about the resilience and never-say-die spirit in the club and I don’t think that has left here. That sort of steel in a team or a club,” said Stack.

“Nobody should be afraid of a battle; that’s part of the game we play,” he added.