SHC Final Preview: ‘You have to be ready and never take anything for granted’

When Mike Cole was asked to take charge of Ratoath senior hurling team during the summer he didn't have to think too long before taking up the baton.

He had watched the team over the years and felt there was much to admire in the way they went about their business. "To be honest it was a no brainer. Ratoath are a team I have admired for their physicality, size and I thought this was a team that would fit the profile, a group of players who would listen and possibility go to where you strive to be at the end of the year, and that's the county final."

They and their manager are there now, only 60 minutes away from the big prize. Those who are superstitious in the Ratoath camp might draw some solace going into Sunday's showdown with Kildalkey from the fact that 30 years ago Rathmolyon, with Cole an integral part of the team, won their first ever SHC. It was in 1993 also that the talented young Rathmolyon man helped Meath to an All-Ireland B SHC title.

Further back in 1963 Ratoath claimed their first and so far only SHC crown; another for the superstitious to believe because there's a three in the year the gods might smile more kindly on Ratoath and their efforts to make history on Sunday.

Not that their manager will be relying solely on good fortune, or superstitious aspirations, to help his team reach the summit. His aim is to get his team as well-tuned as possible so that that they can make some memorable music on the big day - and he has certainly a deep reservoir of experience to draw on to help make all that happen.

Cole, was in his own playing days one of the finest hurlers produced by Meath. Ever. He won three SHC titles with Rathmolyon and played in the green and gold of his county at senior level for 22 years. Surely some kind of record. If he was from Tipperary or Kilkenny he undoubtedly would have a few All-Ireland medals in his collection - and possibly an All-star or two.

When time came to hang up the stick he took to management serving his apprenticeship by taking charge of Na Fianna. He stepped away, then Ratoath came calling.

He believes management should be about evolution, nor revolution - at least when it came to Ratoath. It's also about finding a subtle balance between defence and attack, playing it long or short and knowing when it's best to adopt a certain style.

"I said to the lads when I went into the job I'm not here to reinvent the wheel, all we need to do is tweak certain things, to get certain lads playing in certain ways," he explains.

Talking to Cole, even for a brief interview, is like attending a tutorial on managing a hurling team. He thinks deeply about things and what needs to be done to make a team better.

"Obviously you have to start at the back, you have to have everything in place no matter who you are playing, you have to have your match ups done, you have to have your strongest provider of ball in place to fed your forwards, you have to have your strongest forwards in place. You have to be ready and never take anything for granted."

"The modern game is all about playing through the lines, playing ball to hand as quickly as possible, using the physicality you have, using the athleticism in the team. You have to throw off the shackles too and play hurling."

Knowing when to pass the sliotar through the lines or unleash it long into the forwards is clearly something Cole has put a big emphasis on with Ratoath. Such work he feels is needed because many of the players have spent the summer chasing success in the Keegan Cup - and some aspects of football, he suggests, suit hurling, but some don't.

"There is a tendency in modern football for a player to do a lot of recycling and there is an element of that too in modern hurling. In a club like Ratoath it's about getting the players to use their hurling skills in a certain manner. You have to take the football out of things sometimes and let the ball do the work." Again, it's about balance, he suggests.

Since the championship started Ratoath have shown signs of getting stronger and stronger. That partly can be attributed to the fact that they've got more of their personnel back such as Cian Rogers and partly because the players are now more familiar with the 'Cole Philosophy' and his way of doing things.

The depth of feeling a game can stir up in a passionate hurling man like Cole was seen during Ratoath's surprise semi-final victory over Trim when he received a red card for remonstrating with referee Bernard Heeney.

"I never got a red card in my life as a player, there was an old system in place at inter-county level years ago where you got a yellow, a kind of sinbin, but I never got red. We all get wrapped up in the game and even though you're not playing you're still fighting the battle for the lads."

Driven by such passion from the sideline Ratoath are now on the cusp of a big win. Having a three in the year might favour Ratoath but Cole won't be relying on that. He'll have his troop primed for battle, leaving little as possible to chance. He knows it's best that way.