New manager Poacher under no illusions as young Leitrim wade into Division 3 waters

The goal may be to stay in Division 3 but new Leitrim manager Steven Poacher is under no illusions about the task that faces a young Leitrim squad as they host Laois in Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin next Saturday January 25, for the opening round of the Allianz National League.

Leitrim GAA organised a press event ahead of the start of the 2025 League and instantly on meeting the new Green & Gold boss, you can see why Poacher got the job - his obvious enthusiasm, or obsession as he puts it himself, radiating from the Down native. But that doesn’t mean he is going into the League with nothing but blind optimism!

“We're under no illusions that you're going into Division 3 with a young squad, a squad that maybe hasn't been exposed to Division 3,” was Steven’s considered reply when asked about the task that faces Leitrim, “I think the last time we were in Division 3 was five years ago, if I'm correct in saying that, so how many players out of this squad played in Division 3?

“Probably very few when you actually go back through it and they had one win the last time they were in Division 3. Obviously our goal is to stay in Division 3 - I come from a county in Down where we think we're going to win it all and people on the outside probably think that's delusional.

“But you always think you have a chance in sport and football - you always think you have a chance. I think belief is a big thing in counties like Leitrim, where you have to believe in yourselves because without belief you've nothing. I admire people who have faith because even in life you need belief and if you don't believe, then you've no chance. There has to be an element of belief that if we can get a win in our first game against Laois, it gives us a real good platform to possibly stay in the division with another win.

POACHER WANTS LEITRIM PLAYERS TO BECOME OBSESSIVE ABOUT THEIR FOOTBALL

"There's a lot of counties there, like Offaly who have lost a lot of players, Laois have lost a lot of players, and we have Antrim as well. It's all on any given day but the one big thing, I just really hope that lads carry a good bit of belief into this campaign, get them organised and hopefully we're competitive.”

Belief and continuity are often linked and the new Leitrim boss reveals that as many as five or six U20 could be lining out against Laois with players retiring, travelling or stepping away from the squad but he has no qualms about fielding such a young outfit: “It's very straightforward - there's probably a number of things here. There's players that have retired who owe the county nothing. 

“There's players who are chronically injured who simply can't play because they're injured. There's players who have gone travelling to the other side of the world and there's players who we feel are not a good fit for the squad so we have gone forward with a group of players who we feel are going to drive this forward for the next foreseeable future.

“The big difference between what I would probably call the smaller counties, and I think there's probably about 12 counties who you could throw a blanket over. There's a top five or six, and then there's probably a middle 10 or 11. And then there's obviously a bottom 13, 14. We unfortunately are in that bottom 13, 14 counties. 

“But there's probably a blanket that you could throw over 12 of those teams who on any given day, they could beat each other. But the big issue that those counties have at the bottom,  and I would have found this with time with Carlow in comparison to Roscommon or even with Down, Down have this problem themselves, my own county, is that the turnover of players is huge. 

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“So you don't have a group that's stayed together for 10 years, you know. If you went back through the Leitrim squad for the last 10 years, you'd probably find that every year someone has gone or someone new has come in. I remember meeting Ryan O'Rourke - Ryan unfortunately this year it's just one injury too many for him unfortunately and he's going to struggle probably even just to get ready for the club.

“I remember meeting Ryan way back at the very start, great fella and brilliant, brilliant servant to Leitrim and a fantastic footballer. But I remember meeting Ryan and he was sort of saying what is the difference between the Armaghs of this world and us? The difference is that they have a 10 year project.

“These boys have been together for 10 years, these boys have had the same S&C coach for 10 years, they've had the same manager for 10 years, they've had the same culture and standards that have been built so that the young lads, the Oisín Conatys of this world who come into the squad, they know what's expected.

“They know the standards that are expected and they're not coming into a squad maybe where things are loose or maybe there's a new S&C man one year and then there's a new man the next year. There's consistency and I think that's the biggest thing with the biggest challenge you have with counties, particularly here in Leitrim is that you want to try and have a level of consistency and a group of players.”

That means quite a few new faces in this Leitrim squad but Steven sees plenty of positives for the future: “What might happen is it may be one step forward, two steps back, but eventually you get there and that's the thing. Me and Anthony, we're actually chatting about it and we're talking about the real promising U20 team there this year. Five or six of those lads could equally be playing against Laois, that's the reality because that's where we are and we're going forward with youth. 

“I’m a great big Man United fan, I remember the great Sir Matt Busby and Busby's quote on the wall in the offices in Old Trafford is simply ‘if you're good enough, you're old enough’ and that's the bottom line, and some of these boys are good enough. It'll be a real education for them in Division 3.”

First up in Laois next Sunday and it is a game that is consuming his focus: “We haven't looked past Laois. Let's be honest, we're not looking at Clare, we're not looking at Kildare, we're not looking at Fermanagh - we're looking at Laois in Ballinamore and we're delighted that we can actually host the game in Ballinamore.

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“The last thing you would have wanted was your first stint in Division 3 in five years, and you're playing your home games in a different county, so we're delighted that we have our games in Ballinamore, we're excited about that. It'll be an exciting day for Paul Honeyman who's a very young promising footballer and all the lads on the panel who are obviously from Ballinamore. It'll be an exciting day for them to play on their own club ground for their county against Laois.”

Laois are in somewhat of a transition with quite a few players hanging up their boots and Evan O’Carroll reportedly injured but Steven expects a tough battle: “I've had a few battles with Laois in the past myself. During my time at Carlow, we were old foes but they're like ourselves, they've lost four or five of their starting forward line from last year. 

“Evan O'Carroll, who I think is one of the best forwards in Leinster, the dreaded cruise ship has hit him. Big Kieran Lillis, a great servant, owes the county nothing, he's retired. Mark Timmons, another warrior, has retired and a few lads have gone to Australia.

“So, like ourselves, Laois have found themselves now in a bit of a transition. That first game is obviously a big game for us but it's not the be-all and end-all.  I remember chatting to Oisin McConville about last year, Wicklow never won a single game but it actually stood to them in the Tailteann Cup and they got a really good campaign out of it.”