Paul Galvin will take his first job in intercounty management this winter when he takes over a Wexford football team at a very low ebb. Only Limerick and London finished below them in the Allianz League, while their Championship was over after two games, losing to Louth before being hammered by six goals at home to Derry.
It's a far cry from the teams of Jason Ryan a decade ago when they reached two Leinster finals and an All-Ireland semi-final.
While the footballers have drifted further and further down the pecking order, it's coincided with a rejuvenation for hurling in the county, with Davy Fitzgerald's men lifting the Leinster title this year.
Many were surprised to find out during the week that the Kerry legend was selected as the man to take Wexford out of the doldrums, but, as he wrote in the Sunday Times column today, he sees no reason why the same passion and fire on display from Wexford fans and players in hurling can't be transferred to the football team.
I went to the All-Ireland hurling semi-final last weekend to get a feel for the Wexford supporters in the event that I got the job. Aside from the colour, there was a strong sense of identity and affinity with the team from the off. No more than Kerry on the southwest corner of the country, the southeast has a strong identity and accent. I was sure I could hear the Wexford accent breaking through as the lyrics were sung during Amhrán na bhFiann.
Galvin, a fine hurler himself with Lixnaw, was also very interested in Wexford's style of play under Davy Fitzgerald.
Watching the hurlers play was informative too. If the footballers give as much of themselves as the hurlers do, then Wexford will be winning right away. There was strong identity on the field too. The real standout was their almost Gaelic football-like use of possession. Wexford hardly wasted a ball.
A county where one sport takes prominence over the other is something I understand coming from a hurling area of Kerry myself. Wexford hurling is on a high right now. The work of Davy Fitzgerald and his team is the greatest reference for preparation and performance that any of the footballers could wish to have.
Galvin's column, which also references not being "a GAA manager in the conventional sense" and brings up the 1798 Rebellion and the Black and Tans is well worth a read in full in today's Sunday Times.
