Devouring advice from Cody, Ferguson and O’Gara but Eddie Brennan is his own man

If you care enough, you won't have excuses.

You'll be making excuses so you can get to training and not the other way around. Eddie Brennan never had any excuses in his playing career and now as he attempts to make his mark as a manager, fundamental to it will be breeding that same kind of attitude into the Laois hurlers. Brennan will be over Laois next year and they're already training three times a week with Walsh Cup games and League games not too far away from them now. The welcome sideshow of his club making it to a Leinster final, where he will ironically be playing against some of his Laois panellists and one of his selectors, Tommy Fitzgerald, has kept him busy, but it hasn't held him back as Laois' leader. Brennan has experience as head-bottlewasher, in 2017 he won a Leinster title and brought the Kilkenny under-21s to an All-Ireland final. This will be his first job in the big time but he knows what he wants to bring to the table - men like Ronan O'Gara, Alex Ferguson and of course, Brian Cody have inspired him along the way but above all, he wants to be his own man about it.

"You put your own spin on things and what you see as important things. The challenge probably is, can you add little bits, what did you learn from that," he said at an AIB Club event this week.

A keen reader and an avid sports fan, he's been learning from the best.

"Ronan O'Gara was asked what is the difference about the lads down in the Crusaders and he said, they care, they don't just say they care, they care," he said on Thursday's GAA Hour Show.

Those words really resonated with the Graigue/Ballycallan stalwart.

"When you look at how simple that statement is, that's what teammates or buddies or family, that's what it's all about. It's just saying that, I will get there, I will be on your shoulder when you're going through with that ball or if there's a tackle to be made, I'll make the tackle.

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"That's sport in its very rawest and when you examine what Ronan O'Gara said there, that is the nuts and bolts of any team - be it club team or county - When things are going well, lads will be up there beside you, they will care about it - that's the reality no matter what set-up it is...If you're in a team, that's what you're willing to do, that's the way I look at it and that's what you'll be hoping within a panel..."

It's about those basics, but you must be willing to test yourself.

"The very basics are that you're going to have a cut at it and you're going to get out of your comfort zone...Anyone that has never achieved their potential hasn't taken risks and sometimes it means taking risks and taking chances, see where it takes you then," he said.

Brian Cody obviously, also had a big impact on him.

"You're lucky that you're exposed to that as a player (Brian Cody's management). People are often fierce curious about his style, about what goes on, if you could see how simplistic and straight forward Brian Cody's approach has been, for me, it's about the basics, if you bring that alone, that's the starting point.

And he's also learning from Alex Ferguson.

  "In Alex Ferguson's book, on leadership, one of the things he said is that, as a manager, you have to look at is what you're seeing and what you're hearing on the training field."

Eddie will be looking and he'll be listening, this time for the good of Laois hurling. You can listen to the Brennan interview and so much more from Thursday's GAA Hour Show here. https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/eddie-brennan-interview-yellowred-sliotars-offensive-mark-bombshell