Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 5:00pm

Graham's focus is on county minors

Cavan minor manager Mickey Graham

It had been widely speculated, but this week Mickey Graham explained to The Anglo-Celt that he would not be continuing in his role as Ballyhaise manager in 2010 so as he can concentrate solely on the final year of his three-year term with the Cavan minor football team.

Graham took over the Annalee Park outfit in December 2008 with hopes of steering the club to the same intermediate championship title he won with Drumalee three years previous, however a quarter-final defeat to eventual winners Lavey last season killed off their chances and after extending his stay to win the Under 21 Division Two championship, the Cavan Gaels clubman has decided to step aside for the newly appointed Barry Tierney.

"The Cavan minor job is a three-year term. This is the final year, so it's a big year for myself and I will be giving it my full attention and hopefully we'll try and leave no stone unturned," said Graham.

"We've learned an awful lot in the last two years with the teams and have learned a few other things along the way as well, so we will be hoping to improve on those things and learn from the experiences and make sure that we don't make the same mistakes that we've made in the last two years."

In Graham's first year in charge (2008), Cavan impressed in wins over Antrim and Armagh before narrowly losing out in the semi-final to a late rally from Tyrone, which saw the Red Hands go on to claim Ulster and All-Ireland glory.

Last year, a defeat in the opening round to Down in Armagh ended Cavan's season in May, before Graham was to endure further misery when Ballyhaise looked to have IFC favourites Lavey on the ropes in the group stages only for the New Inns side to overcome a six-point deficit and snatch a draw, forcing a play-off with Drumalee which Terry Hyland's team won to put their name in the hat for the quarter-finals; sure enough we had Ballyhaise v Lavey Part II. Lavey ousted Graham's men and went on to lift the intermediate championship.

However, Graham's tone suggests that that's all in the past for him, as he focuses on a season that will ultimately define his time spent as the Cavan minor football boss.

"We can't train collectively until March because of the new rules with colleges," he explained. "We've a provisional panel picked and the lads are working away on their own with the programmes we've given them. At this stage, the panel is still open and we have a number of lads we still need to look at and they'll get their opportunity come the beginning of March when the Ulster league starts.

"We have about six lads that played last year underage, mostly defenders. From the panel altogether we've eight to nine lads underage that were there last year, so that's a wee bit of a help. It gives us a bit of foundation for the other lads that are coming in.

"In saying that, some of the lads that were there last year mightn't necessarily step up to the mark this year," he warned. "A lot of lads can improve and disimprove over a year, but it's a nice number to have and they'll have that bit of experience as well, so hopefully that will rub off on the other lads that have come in for the first time this year."

Cavan minors will taste their first piece of competitive action of March 13 when they welcome Dublin in the Ulster League, but everything between then and the start of the summer will be geared towards their MFC meeting with Fermanagh in June.

While he will certainly have his objectives set for the players when they begin training next month, Graham insists that laying out targets to reach Ulster finals is far too premature at this stage of the year.

"Minor football is so unpredictable and it's just all on the day," he claimed. "Sometimes you think you have a great team and this is the team that's going to do it and you could go out and get beat in the first round. Other years you think you have an average bunch of players and most of the time that's the team that can go and make the breakthrough. At that age level you just never know and it's all on the day.

"It doesn't matter how well you prepare, it's just how the young lads cope on the big occasion. Some cope better than others and, as I said, it's how they perform on the day. If they perform to their best abilities, it's usually good enough and if they don't, it's not and that's the bottom line."

As for 2009 and Ballyhaise, it was a case of good luck rather than good riddance to the club he managed last season.

"There was disappointment that we didn't win it (the intermediate championship) but that's football," Graham stated. "Against Lavey we had our opportunities to win the game and we didn't take them and then when Lavey got their opportunities they took them and that's the bottom line, and they went on and won the intermediate championship deservingly so.

"The lads were probably more disappointed as a group of players because they knew they had a great opportunity and they let it slip. But I know they are very keen and hungry down there and I have no doubt that they will be looking to bounce back for the New Year and give it their best shot. They have the panel of players there to do so and now it's all about believing and learning from the mistakes last year and what they can improve on," he concluded.