FERGAL O’DONNELL IS well versed in Roscommon football.
He captained the side to the 2001 Connacht senior title, managed the county minor side to a glorious All-Ireland win in 2006 and was at the helm as well when the senior side won in Connacht in 2010.
Yet rather than bask in that run of success, O’Donnell returned for another go at senior management for the 2016 campaign.
The presence alongside him of Mayo Allstar and 2013 All-Ireland club winning boss Kevin McStay, helped entice O’Donnell.
“The fact that Kevin was the catalyst and that he was looking for the job maybe more so than myself.
“It’s shared now. Kevin (has) experience and he’d be happier doing media and stuff.
“He has time, I have a young family and Kevin’s kids are in college whereas my kids are 11, nine and seven. My wife’s working away as well so it’s a huge commitment like.
“The biggest thing is Kevin was very anxious to get involved. He said that he wanted me involved. I know the quality in the county because I’ve been involved in training them.”
Even after finishing up with the Roscommon senior side in 2011, O’Donnell returned to assume the managerial reins of the county minor team.
“It is a massive feeling to manage your own county. I was involved in the minor team there in ’13 and ’14 and the support we had was massive.
“It’s hard work but it’s very rewarding as well. You live for these days. That (minor) team in 2013, I did see massive potential in that team and it’d be one of my biggest regrets, the All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone.
“I was very poor on the line, as a management team ourselves we were very poor on the line. It was interesting, Diarmuid (Murtagh) and a few of the lads, Ultan Harney, those guys would say it was a day they performed poorly.”
Upon reflection, O’Donnell regrets not staying with the senior side for another season.
“When I left in 2011, circumstances, my mother died suddenly and circumstances were different and the kids were young.
“One thing, I wish I’d done another year that time. I was disappointed after losing. I just think if I’d stayed one more year it would have been better in hindsight.
“We were well established and we weren’t far off Mayo in 2011, that wet day in the Hyde. That game could have gone either way. I’ve only looked at the game once really since I’m back but I do think a few decisions went against us and we didn’t take our opportunities
“I know they (Mayo) were coming but I would have loved to have had another crack at them at that stage.
“But, in fairness to (James) Horan, he really brought them to a new level but I think we lost time there maybe for a year or two there.”
His target for Roscommon now is that a season where they have contested the league semi-finals and a Connacht decider will be a brief sampling of the big time.
“When I took over the first time in 2009, you’d love to establish Roscommon as a top eight team, that you could be playing in All-Ireland quarter-finals.
“Even though we’re in Division 1, we know there’s teams like Tyrone and all those teams that are ahead of us like. We’re realistic.
“You look at Mayo, every year for the last few years, they know that they’re going to be playing in August.
“We’d love to get to that stage. I suppose Kildare were there. Kildare are a team that I would often say were unlucky under Kieran McGeeney.
“You look at the crossbar against Down and you look at the point (Kevin) Cassidy hit. They were very close and if we could get to that stage that you could compete either at the top end of Division 2 or at Division 1 and be playing in All-Ireland quarter-finals, it’d be great.”
Their next task though is bringing down one of the aristocrats in Connacht. Galway stand in their way of securing silverware next Sunday.
“The thing about underdogs, we’ve never really beaten the big two. The last time Roscommon bet Galway or Mayo I was playing myself, which is a sad reflection.
“That’s the difference I’ve always said with Roscommon. We do okay but when Galway and Mayo come, they can come that bit different.
“We would view Galway as a big obstacle for us and the big challenge is to beat one of the big two.”
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