| GAA's loss is Rovers' gain as skipper leads by example |
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| Friday, 29 September 2006 | |
 Most young fellas with a passion for sport and a head for dreaming fancy notions would gladly settle for achievement in just one code. Few would dare believe they might have a choice.
By Jim Gray, courtesy The Sligo Champion Michael McNamara is the exception. Naturally gifted as an exponent of both gaelic football and soccer, he has excelled in both codes but has been faced with the difficult decision as to which he should owe allegiance. As a schoolboy, it was possible to embrace both sports, and he did so with considerable success. But, inevitably, a choice had to be made. In recent years, he has alternated between the two – coming to prominence as an impressive young soccer player under Tommy Cassidy at the Showgrounds before progress was interuppted by a cruciate knee injury; then returning to Gaelic football to star for the county team under both Peter Ford and James Kearins. With both codes pulling at his heart and mind, McNamara knew a definite commitment to one or other was finally required. "It was a very tough call for me, because I genuinely loved playing both sports, and had done so all my life. Now it was time to exclude one of them, and it wasn’t easy", he recalls. "I put a lot of pressure on myself in making that choice – there was absolutely no external influence one way or the other. "I suppose what tipped the scales was that there had been a few issues with the county GAA team which I was personally unhappy about at that time. Also, in talking to Rovers, I got the sense that the club was going in the right direction and was serious about trying to shape a  successful future".Certainly, the GAA’s loss has been Rovers’ gain, as McNamara, as club captain, has begun to fulfill the potential so evident when he first burst onto the scene as a raw 18 year old. Such was the extravagance of that potential that a summer trial was arranged with Glasgow Celtic. The opportunity was subsequently scuppered by the knee injury which side-lined the young centre-back for the best part of a year. Thankfully, the effects of the injury have long since been conquered, and while the chance of a full-time career in football has now evaporated, the 25 year old is enjoying life as the captain of a progressive club. If McNamara was sufficiently impressed by Rovers’ set-up two years ago, it’s nothing compared to the changes he has witnessed since the arrival of Sean Connor as manager. "It’s a completely different club now than when I was here five years ago. The facilities have improved by leaps and bounds and there’s a far more professional approach both on and off the field. "A lot of it is down to Sean Connor. He has generated a great sense of professionalism and team spirit. Everybody works very hard, everybody has the same goal in mind. "Obviously, the full-time set up has helped a great deal. There’s now only three part-timers in the squad – myself, Conor O’Grady and Sean Flannery – and it can be difficult for us at times because of work commitments. "But there’s no divide between the part-time and full-time players. Sean has built a great team spirit, and the fact that he has chosen me, as a part-timer, to be captain in a full-time set up is a great honour", Michael explains. The feel-good factor is, of course, enhanced by Rovers’ successful adaptation to life back in the top flight. "I believe we’ve done better than anybody could have expected. We have surprised a lot of people, maybe even ourselves, but there’s no fluke about our high league position. Our results speak for themselves", according to McNamara. Given the area’s fascination with cup football, it’s hardly surprising to find the Rovers’ skipper in confident mood ahead of Sunday’s quarter-final clash with Killester, but he is adamant that there’s no chance of complacency in the camp. "We played Malahide in the Cup last year, and there was talk that all we had to do was turn up. But they held us to a 1-1 draw at the Showgrounds, and the game could have gone either way. Nobody needs to tell us that these games can be a lot more difficult than they appear. "We would be confident of getting through, but we’re not taking anything for granted. We will prepare for this game as if we were playing a top team, and we will give Killester due respect", he says. Nonetheless, he is prepared to concede that the prospect of a place in the cup semi-final has generated enormous excitement in the camp. "We know this is a great opportunity for us to make a big impression. If we get to the last four, then we have to start thinking we have a chance of winning the cup. In that sense, the tie against Killester is a really big game for us", he contends. |
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