Croke Park is where Leitrim want to be says Andy Moran

“Croke Park is the best place in the world if you ask me and we can’t wait to go there” was Andy Moran's response when asked what reaching the Allianz NFL Division 4 Final next Saturday would mean to Leitrim footballers.

Andy's response came after he was asked what playing in Croke Park would mean to this Leitrim team and he came up with an intriguing answer  that  revealed the ambition within his Green & Gold squad: “Croke Park is a different sport - I would say there are three different sports within the GAA, there is the club scene, the county scene and then there is Croke Park. 

“Croke Park is a quicker game, faster pitch, the ball plays differently, it bounces into your hands so the boys need to get used to it early. Laois got a small taste of it last year when they played Down in the Tailteann Cup - this doesn’t need to be driven by me, it is being driven by the players in that dressing room who want to do something in the game in the period that they have. 

“They are chasing it down - even when we lost and there was doom and gloom outside, there was no doom and gloom inside because the boys knew they had the work done and if they could pull it together, they had a right chance.

“I think the key thing over the last three or four weeks is that they’ve started to play together and once they started to play together, the whole thing had come alive. That gap week was huge for us after Longford - we could just go away, get ourselves set again and I think our forward division really got together and said ‘here we go, here is how we’re going to go about things’.”

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The Leitrim manager also stresses to the players they've got to take the chance in front of them next Saturday: “I’m from Mayo, was part of my first squad in a Minor All-Ireland in the year 2000. My last year playing with Mayo was 2019 and that was the first title I won in Croke Park. You have to take the opportunity of a lifetime in the lifetime of an opportunity. The boys want to win, they are hungry, they really want to win.”

The celebrations after Sunday's 0-15 to 0-9 victory over Tipperary was quite a contrast to the gloom after the defeats to Longford and Carlow but Moran insisted that the mood within the Leitrim camp was always good! “If you can keep the majority of the same fellas together, they can see the past and learn into the future from it. We were in the exact same situation for the last two years. Last year, we got a great experience - we had Laois here where we beat them by two points and we had Sligo then afterwards and if he had won that game, we were promoted. 

“We had that experience and if you have that, you know we’re still in it. We knew we had a lot of good players to get back, the likes of Pearce Dolan and the difference he makes around the pitch is huge.

“To be honest with you, our major goal was to get up, we have two or three more goals we are looking for from the year, not set out by me, set out by the likes of Ryan and Darragh, who want to do stuff in the game. We had two plans, if I’m being honest, I can admit that now - one if it didn’t go well if Longford beat Wexford but we’ll stick with the plan for Croke Park and we’ll go.”

Thumbs up from Andy Moran and Leitrim GAA Chairman Enda Stenson Picture: Willie Donnellan

Sunday was also the culmination of three years of hard work, a point Moran was keen to stress: “From year one, we were always saying it is ten points we need, we need to get to ten points and the year we get there is the year we go up to Division 3. I’m just so delighted for the lads, we made a lot of sacrifices this year - a few lads left the panel, really great characters and what I’d really hate for this to be is they left and we go there. 

“No, they had a massive part to play in what we achieved today - over the last two years, the Paddy Maguires, the Keith Beirnes had huge performances for us over the last couple of years and we’re hugely thankful for them and who knows what the future holds. It is the culmination of three years, the County Board stuck with us through thick and thin and I’ll be honest with you, ye stuck with us as media, you could see that there was something happening and we’re here now and we’re just delighted.”

Even the defeat in New York last year played its part in this year's success according to Moran: “After New York last year, everybody was saying it was a disaster but I was actually saying it could be a good thing because there is a consequence to our performance. Boys went away, lifted weights all during the Summer, all through the club games and they’ve been absolutely magnificent. 

“We had that blip in between - had we beaten Carlow, there’d be no craic, would there! It was probably a good thing, it wasn’t good for my blood pressure or my heart but I think it was a good thing as in ‘this could happen in a game, what do we do?’ When we were under pressure today, I think you saw a composure that wasn’t there four or five weeks ago.”

The combination of Darragh Rooney and Ryan O’Rourke accounted for 13 of Leitrim’s 15 points on Sunday and Andy believes it is the fruit of hard work that is finally starting to show: “Right from the first game, Darragh got ten points down in Waterford and Ryan was the main creator that day. 

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“Last week, Darragh was great and Ryan was the one who got the scores, got the team of the week which is a big deal for Leitrim. I think the key thing that has happened over the last three or four weeks is that they’ve started to play together and once they started to play together, the whole thing had come alive.”

The main goal now is to get ready for Laois and then Sligo a week later but Andy will be guided by his players: “The boys do need some downtime, they’ve had ten weeks of intense football. We have another week but we will settle it down a bit this week, listen to the players and see what they want this week.”