Sheehan holds hands up after convincing defeat to Fermanagh

Billy Sheehan is acutely aware that if there ever was any honeymoon period for him in his role as Laois senior manager, it’s definitely over following last Saturday’s defeat in Enniskillen. The former Kerry and Laois intercounty player has steadfastly stood by his players following every result this year, good or bad, and he knows well that the only other place where the responsibility for poor results can fall is at his feet – and the 3-15 to 3-9 loss to Fermanagh was a bad result and an even worse performance, in his estimation.

“We were beaten by a far superior team” was his simple summary.

“The scoreboard probably did well by us overall. It was a poor performance and that’s why we were beaten”.

“We were beaten very well today, there’s no point beating around the bush, or glossing over it any bit, the boys know that. It comes back to me, the message I’m delivering and how I’m delivering it to make them well-prepared. It doesn’t come back on the boys because they’re there every night ready to go and they do what’s asked of them”.

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When it came to breaking down the game, there were a number of different facets of play that Sheehan cited as key factors in the result – not least the performance of Fermanagh half-forward Daragh McGurn.

“They got on top with their kickouts, (Daragh) McGurn came out to centre forward and won a few great balls and they managed to get scores off them. But the majority of their scores came off our turnovers, which is something we’ve worked hard on, so we’d be disappointed with that” he said, before addressing the huge number of turnovers that came from long deliveries that were sent down the throat of the Fermanagh sweepers.

“The boys are encouraged to kick the ball, that’s my philosophy on it. The boys did what they were asked to do, some of the kick passes weren’t on so we’ll learn from that and some of the shots as well, maybe the openings weren’t there, but the boys thought it was the best decision to make so I’ve no problem backing them”.

He also referred to the team’s failure to capitalize on the luck that did come their way, most notably Mark Barry’s goal at the start of the second half.

“Let’s be honest about it, it was a very lucky goal, a very soft goal and we didn’t really earn it. The free dropped short and it was a great finish by Mark (Barry). We were gifted an avenue back into the game and for some reason today, it just wasn’t there”.

And as for Wicklow next week?

“It’s a game, we’ve got to go back training and we’re playing Tipperary on Monday night. That’s it, we train and get ready for the next game.

“There’s no such thing as relegation battles, if we won today we were still in a relegation battle and a promotion battle. We lost today and we could still possibly get promoted. We’ve just got to go and play the next game and it’s my job to improve the team.

“As I’ve said from day one, it’s all on my shoulders, it’s not on the boys’ shoulders. I’m the manager so if the team doesn’t perform, it’s at my door, not theirs”.

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