SHOULD I stay or should I go?
That’s the question Down manager James McCartan will be pondering after his side’s dismal championship exit to Kildare at Pairc Esler on Sunday
The Burren man has one year left to run on his contract, but whether he sees it out or not hangs in the balance, especially after Sunday’s dismal display.
There is no doubt that Down produced a poor performance in Pairc Esler. Slight favourites going into the game, they ended up being outclassed by a Kildare side which completely dominated the latter stages.
Down’s display was characterised by sloppy passing, loose marking and a complete failure to retain possession in the tackle.
Kildare were no big shakes either, but they seemed a lot more confident in going for their scores as the Down defence afforded them a lot of space.
The Mourne County struggled to break through the Kildare rearguard and if it wasn’t for the efforts of Benny Coulter, the final result could have been more of an embarrassment.
Down’s stature has diminished since McCartan guided the team to an unlikely All-Ireland final appearance in 2010.
Failure to get out of the National League Division 2 in the spring was a disaster and if the Red and Black are going to harbour ambitions of getting back to the top table then promotion next year is a must.
Whether the likes of Brendan McVeigh, Dan Gordon, Dan McCartan and Benny Coulter will be around for that challenge remains to be seen.
Coulter has intimated that this could possibly be his last season in a county shirt while the remaining trio are very much in the autumn of their intercounty careers.
Manager McCartan’s future is also uncertain and he refused to be drawn on his plans in the post match interview.
Wee James will have been disappointed with how things have panned out these past few years and he may feel that it is time to step aside.
Dr. Niall Moyna and his entourage could also seek pastures new as speculation grows that a complete new management team will be in place for the start of 2015.
Kilcoo supremo Jim McCorry would surely relish the chance to take over and with this being his last year with the Magpies he would be a free to take up the new challenge in the winter.
Bryansford manager Frank Dawson has intercounty experience with Antrim and would be regarded as one of the front runners. In terms of playing personnel, Down really do need all their best players involved from the outset.
There seemed to be an unsettled nature to the squad this year with a lot of established players rendering themselves unavailable while the unit was dogged with players leaving the panel at various junctures in the season.
The recent furore over the Kilcoo trio going on holidays the week before the Leitrim game didn’t seem to do a lot for team morale either.
The fact that Down have one of the worst records in the Ulster U-21 competition in recent times also needs to be addressed for the sake of the future of the county senior side.
Down are not being competitive enough at this grade and only Niall Madine has properly nailed down a starting place since graduating from this rank in the past few seasons.
Hopes remain high that Down will once again be back among the big boys in the years ahead, but a root and branch upheaval of the county structures needs undertaken, especially in regards to the development squad set-up, if Down are to prosper once again at inter-county senior level.