By Damien Maher
New Westmeath senior football manager, Tom Cribbin has set his sights on consolidating division two status at minimum next year and is very keen to lead a team that will make a bigger impact in the championship.
The Kildare man was just settling into his new role last weekend and met many well wishers when he attended the Leinster Club quarter-final at Cusack Park on Sunday. Having completed the New York marathon last week, Cribbin returned home with an altogether different challenge facing him, but already he has made progress with his backroom team and will finalise his selectors in the coming week.
His strength and conditioning coach will be fellow Kildare man, John Doran, who has a wealth of experience in this area having worked with legendary Kerry manager, Mick O’Dwyer in the past. Former Portlaoise footballer, Mark Kavanagh, who won an All-Ireland club title, will be one of Cribbin’s selectors and he plans to add two more from either end of Westmeath.
“I have four or five names at the moment and I’m obviously considering geography, while also looking at who will have the experience and is prepared to give the commitment. That’s going to be a big factor,” he remarked.
Joining Cribbin as under 21 coach will be former Westmeath minor manager, Tommy Carr.
“There’s just no way I could do both the under 21 and senior at the moment, so I will be focusing solely on the senior side until January. Tommy Carr is a super coach and has been with the Westmeath minors for the last three years, so he’s very familiar with the players,” remarked Cribbin, who will be working with the former Dublin player and manager.
Mullingar’s Gerry Duffy has also joined Cribbin’s backroom team and the endurance athlete (famously known for his 32 marathons in 32 days) will bring a new dimension to the set-up. Already he has worked with a number of clubs, including Lough Lene Gaels and he is renowned for his motivational qualities.
Cribbin also plans to add further backup and support staff, including a liaison officer and a kit man.
“These people are all very well qualified and obviously it’s important to get a strong backroom team in place. The talent is there in Westmeath to make progress; they have been slightly unlucky with how things have panned out in the last year, but the players know what it takes to compete at division two having won promotion in 2013,” he observed.
Cribbin sees Division two football as a considerable challenge, which is why he wants to focus on getting the players organised over the next six weeks. The O’Byrne Cup in January will not be an opportunity for fans to see new faces, though, as he intends to work with the players who are there and are performing well in training.
“I’ll be looking at having a settled team and whoever is playing well in training will hold their position. I will not be experimenting; it’s very important to have stability and to hold our status, at the very least, in division two. No one wants to be dropping to division three, which would leave it very difficult to make progress in the championship,” he remarked.
Cribbin is impressed with the age profile of Westmeath and the fact that they have recently gained promotion to the top flight. He feels the defeats in division one took their toll on the team ahead of this year’s championship, which proved a disappointment for Westmeath.
“It was always going to be a huge challenge playing the top teams in the country and the league defeats knocked the stuffing out of Westmeath. The league is going to be very competitive again in the coming season which is why we must prepare well for it, but I’m heartened by the fact that Westmeath gained promotion in 2013,” he said.
Cribbin, like many Westmeath fans, has been impressed with Dessie Dolan’s contribution to Garrycastle’s great year and while the obvious move might be to try and convince Dolan to give it one more season in the maroon and white jersey, the new manager is not about to make a hasty call.
“Obviously I respect Dessie Dolan’s decision and I will not be interfering in any way with his club commitments at the moment. He was outstanding for Garrycastle on Sunday and his winning point was one of real quality. Now is not the time to talk about anything else, but I do intend to speak to Dessie Dolan about the whole situation in Westmeath because he will have a wealth of knowledge and is greatly respected,” said Cribbin.
The former Laois, Offaly and Kildare (under 21) boss is happy with how the early stages have gone in Westmeath and working under no less a figure than Kieran McGeeney in Kildare has been a great help to his own career.
“He’s a brilliant manager and just has so much enthusiasm for what he does. Working with him in Kildare was a great experience and can only benefit me going forward,” he said.
November 15 (next Saturday) is the date when collective training begins again and it’s full steam ahead after that for the new Westmeath supremo, his backroom team and the county’s senior footballers.
(See County Board News inside this issue on Tom Cribbin’s appointment).
