Michael Murphy has this week ruled himself out of the running to be the next Donegal Manager.
Speaking at a media event on Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s Electric Ireland minor football final between Derry and Monaghan, the ex Donegal captain won’t be throwing his hat in the ring for now.
“I’ll do everything in my power to learn as much about Gaelic and to do the right thing stepping-stone wise, to see whether there is an opportunity in the future. There’s not a chance, I wouldn’t be the right person for the job, the right candidate.
“I would need to go and figure things out and get more experience around that level. I’ve been a player in and around that level but that doesn’t mean all of a sudden you become a good manager. Other than the Sigerson Cup with the local college team and club minors in recent years, that’s my experience of coaching and management so far. I need to go away, give that time and qualify myself and get the necessary experience there – good, bad and indifferent.
“To see, do you enjoy it? Am I any good at it? Does timing allow in the future?
“But I do believe that if someone really, really wants the role there is still enough there for them to take it”
“When I was in my twenties I was always saying to myself that I’d love to give it a crack.”
Murphy who lead Donegal to All Ireland success in 2012 does believe the Donegal job is still an attractive proposition, despite the off-the-field concerns within the county at the moment.
“It’s a tricky one right now. With everything that’s going on in the background, is it ideal? It’s probably not. But I do believe that if someone really, really wants the role there is still enough there for them to take it. Most of the interaction, or certainly 80 to 90% of it for a manager, is still with the players.
“Yes there will be dialogue that will need to be had with the county board. But for the right person, or the people that really, really want it, I don’t think that won’t deter them in the slightest from throwing their name into the ring.
“The deadline has been set. That’s a positive insofar as we take learnings from last year in terms of it dragging on quite late. I don’t think that helped things. But at the same time it’s crucial we get the right person.
“And I do believe there is enough hunger there within the county, players that have roles in other counties, that may now want to align with the senior job.”
