“There are some people who just won’t take no for an answer.”
The last thing you want after a defeat is strangers coming up and telling you where you went wrong – especially in a pub where they have a bit of dutch courage in them.
Inter-county managers probably have it the worst however, because they have to shoulder so much of the responsibility, and people feel like they have the right to give them their ten pence.
Speaking on the GAA Hour, former Armagh star, Aaron Kernan regaled tales like these relating to his father, Joe Kernan, who managed Armagh to their only All-Ireland title.
“From Dad’s time with club and county, I definitely seen both sides of the coin. Thankfully he brought plenty of success in both places, but definitely the defeats were just so hard for them to take.
“I suppose they just feel full responsibility for it. You don’t want to see people, you don’t want to talk to them and everyone wants to know what happened – ‘why did it go wrong, were we not prepared?’
“Everyone wants their own piece of you and I suppose even more so when he was involved, compared to now, especially with social media.
“It’s just took everything to an absolute new level where a click of a button and some opinion is right in front of your face, as unfortunately Mike Quirke found out with the Tweet stat that was put to him.
“It is very, very difficult for them.”
Colm Parkinson asked if Joe Kernan had to deal with any incidents in the pub specifically and how he would handle them.
“He has his two regulars in town and all he has to do is make eye contact with the barman and they come over and rescue the situation,” said Kernan.
“But definitely it happens, there are some people who just won’t take no for an answer.”
With food for thought, Parkinson began to have a newfound appreciation for managers, realising that they maybe have to deal with certain things that even the players get to avoid.
“Imagine being an inter-county manager and being livid after a loss and having some lad telling you where you went wrong – oh my God, like the patience you would need for that,” he noted.
“Players don’t really get that. They get it a bit, but again if you played well, they qualify everything by saying that they’re not blaming you, ‘you were outstanding’ – so you could listen to it a little bit.”
You can listen to the full discussion on the GAA Hour now.
