Free Gaffers by Trevor Keane Page A

with the FAI’s approach and had battled for a team manager with real power to be appointed. The FAI eventually gave the players their wish, bringing in Meagan, although a compromise was made: the selectors would continue to select the panel from which Meagan would then choose a starting XI. The committee’s influence was still a major factor in the make-up of the team, as was the voice of the crowd, which had the power to sway the selectors’ choices.
    Alfie Hale was one of the players who put the pressure on the FAI that would eventually lead to change: ‘I actually sat on the committee that put the strategy in place to change the structure of the way things were being managed. I was back in League of Ireland football then, and I remember Frank O’Neill and Johnny Giles were on the committee too. We had the full backing of the players. The likes of England had a full-time manager, although Wales and Scotland only had part-time managers like us, but they had more say. I suppose one of the reasons it hadn’t happened sooner was down to money. I don’t think the FAI had a lot in those days.
    ‘So the players got together and put their opinions to the FAI on how the team should be run. Johnny Giles had become a big player in England, and his opinion carried weight. All the players wanted Mick Meagan as manager. He was definitely the popular choice, although I am not too sure that Mick himself wanted the job.’
    Meagan was determined to be his own man and even seemed to have defied the committee, who had ordered him to leave himself out of the team, by picking himself. However, Meagan states this was not the case: ‘A lot of the team played in England in those days, and you always had lads who cried off, so the selectors asked me if I would play, and of course I said yes. After that game the players had a meeting with the selectors, and they agreed to take it a step further and the role of manager changed to allow him to pick the team, although the selectors retained control over the squad selection.’
    Meagan himself admits that his interest in the role was not only about being part of history, it was also a means to stay at the top level of the game: ‘I was attracted to the Ireland job mainly because I had just come back from England and was embarking on a new career. I had left Halifax and had come back to Ireland with Drogheda. For me the Ireland job was a way to remain in the big time and feel part of the big league. I had been appointed as player-manager with Drogheda at the time and Charlie Walsh, who was director at the club and on the FAI committee, approached me and asked me if I would like to be the manager of Ireland. I had no problem saying yes. It would have been very hard to say no, really.
    ‘There was very little pressure in managing Ireland. It was not like it is nowadays. There were about four or five games a year including friendlies. Of course we all wanted to win, but it was very difficult to qualify for World Cups and European Championships. The likes of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Russia had a massive pool of players to call on, unlike today when they are separated into smaller countries again.
    ‘My hands were often tied. The selectors were dedicated to the Irish cause, and they helped where they could, but the FAI did not have a lot of money in those days. None the less, one of the main changes I made when I came in as manager was to stop the players from staying in city-centre hotels, moving them out to Montrose instead. You see, at the time I was helping Tony O’Neill with University College Dublin, and Drogheda often used their Belfield training ground, so by moving our base out there the players had nice facilities and a nice hotel. It was something small, but it helped the players.
    ‘The results weren’t good, though. I think we only managed three draws during my time in charge. Despite doing my coaching badges while I was an Everton player, I can’t ever say I enjoyed