New joint Offaly county football managers Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly, right, with Offaly county board chairman Michael Duignan and footballer Niall McNamee at Daingean GAA Club on Sunday. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Mickey Harte has admitted that being “away from your own neighbours” and avoiding the criticism that came with the Tyrone legend managing their fierce rivals Derry in 2024 was one of many attractions to his new role as joint-manager of the Offaly senior footballers.
Harte, a three-time All-Ireland SFC-winning manager with Tyrone in the noughties, had a disappointing end to his year in charge of Derry after winning the Division 1 league title back in March.
Having a clean slate in the midlands and not managing a team close to his own doorstep is “refreshing” as he looks to help turn the tide in Offaly, where he will work alongside Declan Kelly.
“It probably is better to be away from your own neighbours, some of them don’t take it too well if you manage their team!” Harte told local reporters in O’Connor Park on Sunday. “It’s refreshing, it’s a different scene, different people. I enjoyed the Offaly victories back in the 70s and 80s
“I was at those games and you always associated Offaly with a serious edge. There was a drive in them, a competitive edge, something about them that you’d have to be on your game to beat them. That’s good, maybe we could hope to harness that again and put some more stuff to it.”
When it was put to Harte about how to change Offaly’s dismal record in the Tailteann Cup – and the All-Ireland qualifiers before that – he had little interest in their ceiling being capped at the second-tier championship.
“Would it not be right, if you top Division 3, you might be playing in the All-Ireland series? That’s the first place I’d look,” Harte said matter-of-factly before referring to the style of football which he hopes to implement with Offaly.
“Winning football! The new Football Review Committee (FRC) will probably bring in some rule changes so we’ll have to adapt.”
