The challenge for me is to get Roscommon into the top ten

People Sports Editor SEAMUS DUKE spoke to JOHN EVANS on Friday last, less than 24 hours after he had been ratified as the new Roscommon senior football team manager

How did it come about that you got the Roscommon job?

Well, the selection committee approached me and asked me would I be interested. I considered their request and asked them for some time and I thought about it. I sat down then with the chairman of the County Board Michael Fahey and I did a bit of research about the job, football in the county and the set-up in general

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People Sports Editor SEAMUS DUKE spoke to JOHN EVANS on Friday last, less than 24 hours after he had been ratified as the new Roscommon senior football team manager

How did it come about that you got the Roscommon job?

Well, the selection committee approached me and asked me would I be interested. I considered their request and asked them for some time and I thought about it. I sat down then with the chairman of the County Board Michael Fahey and I did a bit of research about the job, football in the county and the set-up in general – and I came back with a resounding yes.

  I knew a lot about Roscommon football anyway and I have had a lot of contact with Roscommon football in recent years. When Fergal O’Donnell was in charge of the seniors we played Roscommon a number of times in challenge games and of course I was involved with Tipperary minors, who beat Roscommon in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2011. So I would have been aware of Roscommon football and I know a lot of their players. So I suppose that helped in getting this job.

So, apart from that, what do you know about Roscommon football?

I know that there is a massive passion in Roscommon for football. With all due respect to Tipperary football – and to Roscommon hurling too – football is the number one game in the county and there is huge public interest in it. I am very aware of the huge work that has been going on at underage level here in Roscommon over the past few years. I know Roscommon is a hotbed of football. I am a Kerry man myself and everyone knows how passionate we are about football down there…..I see that in Roscommon too and I am looking forward to working with great football people here.

Why did you take on this job?

I am a very ambitious guy and I am convinced that I can improve things here. Roscommon would be labelled as about 20th to 25th in the country right now in terms of rankings and I know that Roscommon are far better than that. The challenge for me is to get Roscommon into the top ten and I believe that is possible. It’s a challenge for me but I love a challenge and that’s why I took this on. In fact I can’t wait to get started and down to work.

What will your immediate priorities be?

I have got down to work already. I will be choosing my backroom team on advice from the officials in Roscommon. I will have three selectors and they will all be from Roscommon. It’s important that I get that sorted out as quickly as I can.

  I will also want to meet the players as quickly as possible and I want to set out my stall as to my plans and I want to hear from them as well and what their ambitions are – that’s the most important thing.

  I am looking forward to working with Fergal O’Donnell and Ross Shannon and the minor team and with Nigel Dineen and his selectors too at U-21 level. Those guys and the selectors will know every player that’s available in the county. We will decide then what we will do about trial games or otherwise later on. But I want to get the structure right from the start.

What about your backroom team – selectors, trainers, etc?

As I explained earlier, the selectors will be appointed when I chat to the county board and to others in Roscommon over the next few days. With regard to other backroom staff I will consult with the County Board and we will come up with a solution to that. I foresee no problems in that regard at all.

Is there any particular type or style of football that you favour….what style will you want Roscommon to play?

Oh yes, I favour a style of football that has been very successful for me as a manager. It has worked in Kerry club football with Laune Rangers, with the Tipperary minors, U-21s and seniors too. We also had a fairly good year last year with Meath. I would describe it as a tough, hard-running and direct style. It’s attractive to watch but it requres huge fitness levels and commitment from the players….to make it work. It is a style of football that is not easily attained I can tell you but if the players buy into it I am very confident that it will bring success. 

Will you be holding trial games or will the panel be open-ended?

I am sure that Fergal O’Donnell and Nigel Dineen will have trawled the county for every player at their level so I will bow to their knowledge on that score. But my panel will certainly be open in the initial stages. I will rule no-one out. In Meath last year we brought in players that had not been heard of before and they ended up as some of the stars on the team. Any lad who has ability and is prepared to work hard will get his chance – and I can promise that.

As you look ahead to 2013, have you established any priorities for the year ahead?

I am looking forward to getting established and up and running as fast as I can. The honeymoon period will be over on the 1st of January. We will see how we do in the FBD League but I know exactly what is ahead in the (national) league. It will be a very tough league and I know that. We are starting with a very tough game against Sligo and we have some great games to look forward to with the likes of Meath, Monaghan and Cavan. But our aim is to try to get promoted from division three and with four games at home I will be targetting to gather as many points as we can to try to achieve that.

You live in Killorglin, County Kerry – will the huge amount of travelling that you are going to have to do be a problem?

Not in the slightest is it a problem for me. I am retired so I have time on my hands and I love driving and it doesn’t bother me at all. Anyone who knows John Evans knows that the travelling is not an issue at all. This is a huge challenge for me and even since I met with the Roscommon officials to confirm that I would take the job I am energised and excited by the challenge. If I can leave the Roscommon job with the team in a much better position then when I joined then I will have done a fairly good job. No-one said this will be easy but I relish the challenge.

 Who is John Evans? 

John Evans, who was ratified as the new manager of the Roscommon senior football team last week, is from Killorglin, County Kerry. He was manager of the Tipperary U-21 team and was the county’s senior manager until March 2012. He led Tipperary to back-to-back National Football League promotions in 2008 and 2009, bringing them from Division 4 to Division 2, and winning the Division 3 title in 2009. In 2010 he led Tipperary to their first Munster Under-21 Football Championship with a 1-7 to 1-6 win over Kerry in the final. 

  Before taking to inter-county management, he managed his local Laune Rangers team from the 1980’s into the 2000’s. He led them to the Kerry Senior Football Championship in 1989. They went on to win championships in 1993, 1995, and made it two in a row in 1996 by overcoming West Kerry. John led the Rangers to Munster Senior Club Football Championships in 1995 and 1996. Laune Rangers went on to win the 1996 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship, beating Carlow side Éire Óg in the final in Croke Park. He later managed Tralee side Kerins O’Rahilly’s for two seasons. 

  He was appointed director of football for Tipperary in January 2010, but GAA rules meant he might not be able to hold this role while also being county manager. 

  He resigned as Tipperary county senior manager in mid-March 2012 following a heavy defeat to Sligo in an Allianz Football League Division 3 match at Markievicz Park. After stepping down from the Tipperary job he joined up with Seamus McEnaney and Meath for the 2012 Championship.

  Evans worked for the An Garda Síochána for three decades up to June 2009. He is married to Bridie. The couple encountered tragedy in 1998 when their son Seán died following a brave battle against cancer (on October 14th). He was just sixteen. John and Bridie have one other son and one daughter. 

Roscommon People

Issue: 16th November 2012