OUTGOING GALWAY MANAGER Alan Mulholland believes he is leaving football in the county in a far better place, having taken the difficult decision to step down earlier today.
Mulholland who opted not to take up the option of a fourth year in charge of the Tribesmen, described his decision as the “best for Galway football.”
“I do feel a breakthrough is going to come very soon and it is a very hard thing to hand it over, but you can’t be selfish about things,” he told Galway Bay FM this morning.
“You can’t hold onto them just because you know you’ve done a lot of work over the last while.”
Mulholland said it wasn’t an easy decision, having discussed it with selectors Declan Meehan and Paul Clancy, before heading away on holidays with his family.
Ultimately, the trio decided they would find it difficult to give it their full commitment again in 2015.
“This job is full-on, its a serious job. You’ve a responsibility to the players, your families, your workplace, to the supporters around and we didn’t want to do anything lightly.
“We didn’t want to go at it again unless we could give it our full, unbridled, dedicated attention and when we were really honest with ourselves, we thought it wasn’t going to be the case for this year.”
He feels Galway football has taken a significant step forward during his three year spell in charge, pointing to the experience the young players have gained.
“Personally I do feel that we have made progress. Looking purely at the results, we’ve had 10 championship games in the last two years and that was vital to the group of players we have, that they get experience at the top level.
“That’s something that hasn’t been happening in Galway football in the previous years and for that alone I think we have made some progress.”
Mulholland thanked all those who helped him during his time involved with Galway, even those who assisted him when he was involved with underage squads in the county.
“I do want to thank everybody that has worked with me over the last not just three years but ten years.
“Its been a fantastic time. Its been a great privilege to manage the county and I don’t take this decision lightly.
“I’m already getting lovely texts from people today. People sometimes think that a manager gets a lot of stick and stuff, but I found it the opposite by and large.
“People are very supportive and especially when we’d lose you’d get some lovely messages. I got loads of letters and I just want to thank everybody for the support they’ve shown over the last number of years.”
