There are a lot of qualities that the modern day sports manager should possess. An acute eye for talent, a tactical wizard and a motivational presence in the dressing room, are some of the standard credentials for the ideal coach.
But now it looks like we have another.
Former Cork hurling captain Alan Browne has come out to say that the next Cork boss to succeed Jimmy Barry Murphy will need to be tech-savvy if they want to at least have a chance of prospering in the game.
Speaking on BreakingNews.ie, Browne said:
You really need an all-rounder to take over, a person that even has an appreciation of social media and the potential impact that can have. Anybody taking the gig should really have a decent grasp of Facebook and Twitter too
Social media is such a huge deal nowadays that whoever gets the job has to understand how that all works, what players can and shouldn’t really be posting. Obviously, what players put out online is their own business but the manager will have to know what is acceptable and unacceptable in that element of the role at the same time
But does a manager really need those traits in the abundance that the Munster winning captain suggests? Most teams contain a large fleet of backroom staff complete with employees who cover the technical side of things, meaning that the manager can focus on the team and their performance.
According to the Paddy Power rankings, Tomás Mulcahy is the odds-on favourite at 4/7 while Kieran Kingston is currently at 6/4. Browne is giving the nod to Jerry Wallace. And they might all have a great insight into hurling, but how would they handle a poke war?
