Paddy Christie hoping to build on air of positivity as he steps up to senior management with Longford

In a different version of the story Longford would have been a stop off for Paddy Christie, but now it has become the destination.

Just a few weeks ago the former Dublin captain was looking at the route from Dublin to Mayo, a line snaking across the middle of the country, coast to coast. He had agreed to be included on Declan Shaw’s ticket vying to take charge of the Mayo senior footballers, a decent spin from the capital, but in the grand scheme of things a short journey if it wound up finally bringing closure to Gaelic football’s never-ending quest.

Christie had trained Dublin-based players from Castlebar Mitchels for Shaw when the latter was manager of the club’s senior footballers. However, the Mayo County Board chose to go in another direction, appointing instead a high-powered management team fronted by Kevin McStay. And then Christie’s phone started ringing. Within days he met the Longford County Board and he was quickly confirmed as the county’s new senior football manager.

“The Mayo thing was just something that came about really because I knew Declan. It would have been quite a distance to travel, but at the same time I just felt maybe I could have helped. They have been so close to winning an All-Ireland down through the years, so you’d be wondering if you could add that little bit that might help them to actually win it,” says Christie.

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“Once that didn’t happen then you start getting calls from different counties and Longford said the right things, so I went for interview. Thankfully it went well, and I was very happy to take on the role.”

The former Dublin full back has spent the last three seasons as coach with the Tipperary senior footballers under David Power. Christie also managed the Tipp under-20s to a Munster final appearance last year, but there is no question the standout moment of his time there was in November 2020 when the Premier County won a first Munster senior football title in 85 years. However, now Christie is shooting out to on his own as a senior intercounty manager.

“I had managed the Tipp under-20s and also the DCU Sigerson team for the last few years, and in Tipperary I couldn’t say enough good things about the senior management there, I really enjoyed it and picked up so much.

“I’m not going to start saying Longford are going to win this, that or the other, it’s about small notches, small improvements. It’s not an exact science, once you have humans involved you are never sure how things are going to work out, but my sense is there is a lot of positivity around Longford.”

Off the field, strength and conditioning coach Danny Doherty has an out of season programme in place for players and there is a gym available in Longford town for them to utilise. “Gyms don’t win All-Irelands, but again these things are all little building blocks to try to lift you up a notch. All of these things add up.”

Looking around the landscape in Leinster, it has been a wasteland for over a decade now. His native Dublin own the province, it has become their plaything, but even they are starting to look bored with it these days.

Dublin’s dominance will end at some stage, but Christie accepts when Leinster football’s great sequoia finally tumbles to the ground, it is unlikely Longford will be the guys standing there holding the felling axe. However, he is not as disillusioned as some about the opportunities that are available for counties like Longford.

He sees the Tailteann Cup as a very realistic target, but progression in the league will be the priority when the 2023 season gets under way. Again next year the midlanders will be playing in Division 3, where they have laboured since 2016. And it must surely be written in the stars they will open their campaign against Tipperary, who gained promotion from the basement division this season.

“I can already see it happening,” smiles Christie. “I would actually dread that, to be honest. I’m dreading it no matter when we have to play Tipperary because my years down there were an absolute joy. I have made such great friendships there and we had so many great times, so I will find it very difficult the weekend we play each other, because you will be plotting the downfall of a team and a management you have so much time for.”

He has former Sligo footballer Dessie Sloyan and ex-Leitrim player James Glancy as part of his management team. Christie, who has been given a three-year term, will be the third different Longford manager in as many seasons following on from Padraic Davis in 2021 and Billy O’Loughlin in 2022.

The Ballymun man feels results of recent years highlight a resilience in Longford football, and a county capable of punching above its weight. They might sometimes be branded qualifier specialists, but over the last five years in the Leinster Championship alone Longford have taken the scalps of Meath, Louth and Carlow, and also drew with Kildare.

“I remember playing against Padraic Davis and Niall Sheridan, I always admired them, and down through the years Longford have tended to produce those type of really talented, determined players.

“For a small county they have always stayed competitive and when you talk to people about Longford you hear good things back, so we are hoping to build on that. It is not about winning All-Irelands for every county, there are different measurements for success and I think we can progress things in Longford.”