Four-time All-Ireland winner Kieran Donaghy explained on Thursday's OTB AM why now is the perfect time for him to take up a coaching role under Kieran McGeeney in Armagh.
As Armagh's year ended with a disappointing defeat to Donegal, Kieran McGeeney has the comfort of knowing that Division One football is set for a return to the county for the first time since 2012.
Six years after his appointment, the county's All-Ireland winning captain of 2002 has steadily reshaped and rejuvenated a county that was relegated to Division Three not long before his arrival.
For a determined and passionate young coach like Kieran Donaghy then, the opportunity to work with a progressive county manager like McGeeney was always going to be very appealing.
"I watched this Armagh side against Mayo when I was working with Sky Sports and they lost by a point in the qualifiers," he noted to OTB Sports of their 2019 clash. "I was extremely impressed with what they were doing and the young talent that they had.
"I'm very excited to get the chance to learn from Kieran McGeeney. He came straight out of his playing days and into management. He took that Kildare side to the verge of an All-Ireland final and has done great work with Armagh. It’s going to be really exciting for me and a huge challenge."
Given that the journey from Donaghy's home in Tralee to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh requires the better part of a five-hour drive, however, the former Kerry forward explained how a change in the circumstances of his working schedule has freed him up to take on the position.
Kieran McGeeney, Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh. Picture credit: Sportsfile"People would always be asking me how I could be up in the OTB AM studio at 7.30 or 8 in the morning," the regular OTB pundit noted, outlining that his working commitments have hitherto taken him away from home on a regular basis.
"I've obviously been doing quite a bit of work with PST in Dublin and we've a big pitch now starting in Enniskillen in about two months time and another project coming up around there soon also.
"But it is basically Ireland and Northern Ireland that I've to look after in my role now and I will be up there quite a bit and can carry out my work schedule and the Armagh schedule together.
"Staying in hotels the odd night can be lonely enough and this will keep me busy."
Having previously worked within the Galway hurling set-up under Micheál Donoghue and found it rewarding, Donaghy is excited at the prospect of working alongside McGeeney. As he explained, it has long been the intention of Donaghy's former Ireland teammate in the International Rules series to get the Kerry native involved.
"He's down in Kerry quite a bit," Donaghy noted of McGeeney, the Armagh native married to a Kerry woman who hails from nearby Tralee in Ballymac. "So, we would have kept in touch and it is something that we've talked about for a bit and that he's hopped off me before.
"I was lucky enough to play with Kieran in the International Rules in 2006. He then coached me in 2011 down in Australia and I was very impressed with the way he went about things."
You can watch Kieran Donaghy in full here where he discusses his move to Armagh and analyses this weekend's All-Ireland final clash between Dublin and Mayo
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
