
Picture credit: Daire Brennan / SPORTSFILE
Newly appointed Wicklow football manager Johnny Magee plans to leave no stone unturned during his first season as inter-county manager.
Former Dublin GAA player, Magee was appointed as manager earlier this month after being part of the teams backroom squad last year.
“I was involved last year with the Wicklow team as a coach and selector so when the opportunity came around, and some of the players expressed that they would like me to stay on, I put my name forward for the position”, said Magee.
Magee, who has played Gaelic football with Kilmacud Crokes from the age of ten, has always loved the adrenaline of the game and wanted to still be part of it all after retiring.
“I played for Crokes and Dublin and I knew that when I retired it would leave a big void. I liked the buzz and adrenaline of being on the field and in the dressing room and I miss that”, he said.
He also added that he hopes to get the opportunity to manage Crokes and even Dublin in years to come.
The former All Ireland star’s aim for this coming season is to make sure that his players are playing consistently week in, week out.
“There is a lot of responsibility being a manager”, he said, “I have to make sure that 30 lads are fit and ready to perform at county level”.
The new manager of the garden county has brought two other former Dublin players to the management team this year, his brother Darren Magee, and former All Star winner, Ray Cosgrave, as team coach.
“Darren has been coaching for 10 years now, so he has a lot of experience with that, obviously he is my brother so I trust him as well”, Magee said.
“Darren played mid field, Ray played in the forwards and I’m a defender, so I think that with the three of us, we will be able to cover every angle to try get the best out of our players”, he added.
Wicklow’s first campaign under Magee will begin in the O’Byrne Cup next January, where he hopes to see the team promoted from Division Four.