DUBLIN STAR PHILLY McMahon says he is enjoying the challenge of balancing his time between working with Bohemian FC, and playing for the All-Ireland six-in-a-row champions.
McMahon linked up with the Premier Division outfit earlier this year as a performance coach, after previously serving as a strength and conditioning coach with Shamrock Rovers.
The Ballymun Kickhams defender has received plenty of praise for his contribution to the Bohs set-up, as they continue their incredible run in Europa Conference League qualifying. Keith Long’s side picked up a historic result earlier this week after their 2-1 first leg win over Greek side PAOK at the Aviva Stadium.
McMahon praised the players for the fight they brought in front of a home crowd to claim the victory, and says that working with Bohemians is a constant education for him.
“Yeah there’s loads but I’m not going to tell you,” he replies with a smile when asked if he has learned anything from the Bohs camp that could benefit his own game. McMahon also declined to expand on what his role of performance coach entails, electing to keep that part of his job private.
“One of the reasons why I actually took the job with Bohs, because I knew I was going to learn from the players. I knew I was going to learn from the management. And every day, from young players, from old players, you’re growing, you’re learning, you’re challenged. I suppose from a personal perspective, if I’m trying to help lads at Bohs improve their performances, that makes me more conscious of how I’m feeling or how I’m acting around the Dublin lads as well.”
Bohemians will go to Greece for the second leg next week, although McMahon is unsure if he will able to travel having previously attended their away fixtures in Luxembourg and Iceland.
Dublin recently collected their 11th Leinster crown on the bounce after a commanding victory over Kildare. That result sends them directly into the All-Ireland semi-finals where they will renew their rivalry with Mayo after colliding in last year’s All-Ireland final.
McMahon is coming into a hectic period of the championship with the Dubs, but he insists that he has not encountered any difficulties in committing to both groups.
“It gives you doubles the highs. But just from different roles, I think it’s enjoyable for me. I’m obviously delighted that the boys won another Leinster. Obviously I’m not hands on in terms of [being] on the pitch, because I didn’t get any minutes.
“But any kind of disappointment I maybe would have had of not playing, that’s just the way you have to be as a part of the team. If you want to push the team on, the lads in front of you, you’ve got to want to play. So I suppose having the Bohs thing to switch it back to then is something you can do in terms of helping the squad, I think it’s really enjoyable at the minute.”
He added: “A big part of my life has always been to fill the different components of my life with things I enjoy doing. But definitely filling those voids for whenever I do finish Gaelic football is going to be very important. But I won’t be thinking of that just yet.”
McMahon is one of the most experienced players in the Dublin squad, and is just one of three players chasing a ninth Celtic Cross this year. His clubmate James McCarthy and Michael Fitzsimons are the other members of that unique group.
But while McCarthy and Fitzsimons are regular faces in the starting 15, McMahon has been afforded less game time in recent seasons. He was named to start in their Leinster semi-final against Meath, but was replaced by Jonny Cooper before throw-in.
“I would say it’s a different period rather than challenging or a struggle,” says McMahon about the change in his roles with Dublin.
“It’s a different period for my career. I suppose it’s kind of new in that it’s new for me, but also I’ve seen a lot of players go through this and take learnings from those players and bring it in to what I’m doing and try to help the squad in whatever way I can.”
As for the narrative surrounding Dublin’s lacklustre form so far in 2021, McMahon says:
“You can’t just have a perfect performance in every game. You can’t just be hammering teams every game. It’s just not the way sport works, in any field sport. For us, I suppose it’s important that we keep growing each game, keep building our performances and keep learning. That’s all that matters within our group.”
Philly McMahon was speaking at the launch of the All-Ireland senior football championship.
Bernard Jackman and Murray Kinsella are joined by Craig Ray on The42 Rugby Weekly to preview the deciding third Lions Test on Saturday.
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