McEntee: “Real opportunity” for Monaghan’s young players

Maitiú Monaghan

At a meeting in Cloghan on Monday evening, Monaghan GAA ratified Crossmaglen native John McEntee as the new manager for the Senior Men’s footballers.

McEntee’s appointment brings significant club experience and an established championship pedigree to the role as they look to build for the future.

He succeeds Gabriel Bannigan, who stepped down from the position in August. McEntee has been appointed on a two-year term.

The 2002 All-Ireland winner has considerable experience in club management, having recently completed a four-year stint as Inniskeen manager.

His spell with the south Monaghan club included two appearances in the SFC final, with the first coming in his debut season in charge, marking Inniskeen’s first final appearance since 1990.

He also had a spell in Clontibret, where he won the County Championship in 2019.

Speaking to the media after he was ratified on Monday evening, McEntee repeatedly re-iterated his excitement about taking on the role, and acknowledged the quality of football within Monaghan.

When asked about his new side being in “transition”, McEntee told the media that he “didn’t like the term”.

“I think there is a really strong panel there,” the Armagh native said. “We have a lot of really high-quality players, so we have a really good base to work from.

“It is always good to pull new talent through. We have players at u20 who are really strong, I think there is a real opportunity to bring them into the squad.”

For John McEntee's full interview pick up this week's Anglo-Celt.