THE role of manager to a Railway Cup team is unlike any other in the GAA. An indication of the place which the Interprovincial Football competition holds in the scheme of things is that Leinster manager Mattie Kerrigan will tonight greet his charges for the first time since they booked a final spot, with just four days before the deciders with Connacht at Castlebar.
"We did nothing at all last week," admitted Kerrigan. "With the National Football League resuming last Sunday, we didn't think it would be wise to call on any of the players when their county managers would need them and,, rightly, have first call on them.
Likewise, his Connacht counterpart, Martin Carney, although he at least managed to get his squad together for a meeting, not a training session, last Saturday to review their extra-time win the previous week over Munster.
"Managing a provincial team is quite different," conceded Carney. "You're dependent on the good will of county managers and I'd like to put on record my thanks to them all, not that we have done very much. You're quite limited in the amount of preparations you can undertake, because of other demands on the players, and you just have to accept the situation."
Still, the players desperately want the competition to continue, and so do the managers. The administrators insist they want to preserve it, too, even if the Railway Cup has been shunted around from one date to another in recent times and, to all intents and purposes, relegated to a "secondary" affair with no hope of regaining its former glory days.
Staging the final in Castlebar should, at least, ensure a respectable crowd, especially with a reasonable Mayo representation in the team, but there is no obvious sign of real excitement accord in to the Connacht manager.
"Let's be realistic, Sunday's match is only considered a minor skirmish to a lot of supporters. But, at the end of the day, it is a national title and we are certainly very keen to do ourselves justice," said Carney.
Although there is a full series of Connacht League matches scheduled for Saturday next, Carney has been told that any players chosen for interprovincial duty will he released to join the squad on Saturday.
Last Sunday's National Football League games brought their share of problems for the respective managers. Wicklow's Kevin O'Brien, who lined out at full forward in Leinster's semi-final win over Ulster, sustained a calf muscle injury in the win over Longford - "He must be rated as very doubtful," said Kerrigan - while versatile Mayo defender Pat Holmes picked up an ankle injury in his side's defeat to Clare, but is expected to play.
Kerrigan is also appraising thee situation regarding Louth full back Gareth O'Neill who missed the semi-final because of a hamstring strain, but who played in the league win over Dublin last Sunday.
Kerrigan planned for the semifinal without most of the Meath contingent (who were away in the Canaries), with only Tommy Dowd actually starting the match and Graham Geraghty being introduced as a substitute, and he doesn't intend any dramatic call-ups for players from the Royal County, preferring to stick with the original squad.
Both Leinster, who are defending the title, and Connacht expect to name their teams tonight.
Kerry forward John Cronin is unlikely to be available for his side's, National Football League Division One match with Cavan at Breffni Park on Sunday week. The Waterville player suffered a recurrence of a knee cartilage injury in the win over Tyrone last Sunday and is expected to be out of the game for at least a month.
