JOHN Cleary admits the support of his backroom team and players was key in convincing him to stay in the Cork football hot-seat.

The Castlehaven man’s three-year term as Rebels’ boss came to an end after Cork lost their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final to Dublin on June 21st. Forty-five days later, in early August, there was white smoke from the county board: Cleary’s here to stay after he was handed a further two-year term.

If he had decided to call it a day after this past season – his fourth in charge after his interim role in 2021 – no-one would have judged him for leaving stage left. This is one of the most challenging jobs in Gaelic football: resurrecting the fortunes of a sleeping giant that continues to mix the good, the bad and the frustrating.

So why did Cleary commit to the cause again? It’s a cocktail of reasons, with the feeling of unfinished business hanging in the air.

‘When the season finished, my term was up. I just sat back. The county board came to me and asked if I would consider putting my name forward again. A players’ delegation came and said the same. The ball was in my court at that stage,’ Cleary told the Star Sport Podcast.

‘A lot of the backroom team were anxious to give it another go. We felt we had made a lot of progress.

‘It would be a shame not to, particularly with regards the backroom team. It took me a couple of years to build that up and get these lads together – that probably would have broken up.

‘With that I took four or five weeks out, and made my mind up then when the backing was behind me. The guys wanted to go again, and that I would have another go.

‘It’s not about me, it’s the backroom team, too numerous to mention. They do Trojan work. I’m happy working with them, and this squad of players. When they were anxious for me to go back, that convinced me to have another go at it.’

Cleary’s backroom team has been boosted by the addition of Kevin Murray as a coach/selector, an addition the Cork boss describes as an ‘excellent coach’. The familiar faces of Mícheál Ó Cróinín, Jim O’Donoghue, Barry Corkery and coach Kevin Walsh offer the continuity Cleary hopes will help Cork find the consistency they need to push forward.

‘It’s about trying to get that consistency,’ Cleary agrees.

‘It is very competitive out there – last year we were a kick of a ball away from beating Kerry, and they went on to win the All-Ireland after. There were other times then, like against Down (in the league), when other results left us down.

‘We feel that if we can get consistency, and avoid injuries like we’ve had in the last year or two in particular, that on our day we can be a match for anyone. But we do know that if we don’t keep our standards up and put our best foot forward, we can be beaten by anyone in Division 2, or even in the championship – we are drawn to play Limerick. They got to the Tailteann Cup final last season, so if we’re not on the ball we could be beaten as well.’

Cleary’s call for consistency is a familiar rallying cry. Cork managers before him have all searched for the same but came up short. Evidence from last season was a continuation of the same pattern: beat Meath in the league opener, lose to Down in the next round; beat Westmeath, then lose to Monaghan and Roscommon. Ups and downs that continued into the All-Ireland series: lose the group opener to Meath and then Kerry, but rally to beat Roscommon to progress to the knock-out rounds.

Finding that consistency Cork football craves is key to progress. Cleary knows this. While Cork will compete in the McGrath Cup in early January, the Cork boss admits they won’t be taking the pre-season competition too seriously. The real football starts on January 25th with Cork’s Division 2 opener at home to Cavan. A push for promotion, in Cork’s tenth consecutive campaign outside the top flight, is a necessity if the Rebels are to develop and improve.

‘When you start off a season, that (promotion) has to be one of our targets, but where we are we will take it in blocks,’ Cleary explains.

‘We have the McGrath Cup, then two games in the league (Cavan and Louth) followed by a break, so rather than looking at the end we’re looking at it game by game. Block by block. Then we have three in a row (Offaly away, Meath home, Derry away), which is tough going, and it’s then you’ll see where you are going into the last few games (Kildare home, Tyrone away), whether you are in line for promotion or not.

‘Of course we would like to get up, but we’ll take it game by game and see where that takes us.’

The shared hope is Cork can take the next step, and it’s why Cleary and his management team were keen to go again. For hope to turn into belief, results will shape the narrative and how Cleary’s next term will be framed. But, crucially, he still enjoys this huge challenge: pushing the Cork football team into the conversation for the big prizes. That’s part of the reason he’s back for more.

‘We’re trying to get to the next level,’ he states, but whether Cork can take that next step remains a great unknown. Time to find out.