By John Martin
THE final game in the managerial reign of Terence McNaughton and Dominic McKinley was only finished a matter of minutes when Sambo was candid enough to admit "We failed".
McNaughton and McKinley officially announced the end of their three-year tenure at the helm of Antrim's senior and U21 hurlers on Monday morning, although it had been a fairly open secret that Sambo and Woody would step down after the end of the U21 championship.
That came on Saturday at the hands of Kilkenny by the now characteristic double figure defeat to southern opposition. It was a sad end to a reign that had started with such high hopes back in 2007.
McNaughton and McKinley took over as Antrim senior managers after two years in charge of the county's minors. Narrow defeats at the All Ireland MHC quarter-final stage in 2005 and 2006 gave grounds for optimism that competitive hurlers at minor level could be moulded into competitive hurlers at senior level.
However practice proved more difficult than theory. Even at U21 level last Saturday, fielding 10 players who have played senior inter-county hurling, Antrim struggled to match the skill levels and intensity of Kilkenny.
Speaking after their appointment in November 2006, McNaughton said: "When we took over the minors we tried to change the mindset. That's what we said we'd do, we never said we'd win an All-Ireland. It was about changing the attitude of the young players in this county.
"And I feel we at least achieved that and now we're going to take it a step further. In my opinion, the last time Antrim were competitive at the highest level was the game against Wexford under Dinny Cahill. We'll be trying to do something that hasn't been done in over 100 years, so that puts things in perspective.
"We feel there is a good blend of youth and experience, and we believe we can get them working together. Then we can get Antrim competing again at the highest level."
The last McCarthy Cup game under Sambo and Woody was a relegation playoff against Offaly last month and resulted in an 18-point defeat. Prior to that, it was an unexpected defeat to Laois in the qualifiers.
Ironically, the last two McCarthy Cup games prior to their management were also against Offaly and Laois at the tail end of 2005, prior to Antrim competing in the Christy Ring Cup for a season. Both those games resulted in similar defeats.
"It's a personal disappointment that we didn't bring them on. Probably my happiest time in management was with the minors, we were able to get them, we were working together, there was no distractions or sideshows," McNaughton said.
"It's frustrating. We said we'd so something but basically we failed. We tried and it didn't work."
Ten to choose from... With the departure of Sambo and Woody this week, John Martin casts his eye over potential successors to the poison chalice that is the Antrim senior hurling manager's post.
Paul McKillen – 'Humpy' was favourite to take over the position back in 2006 but pulled out due to county board wavering in the recruitment of a successor to Dinny Cahill. Back then his preferred option was to work alongside either David Foley or Jim McKernan, whom he has since joined as part of the Down backroom team. He stated at the time that it would be an honour to manage Antrim, and having clocked up a bit more sideline experience, the 1993 All Star leads the field to replace Sambo and Woody.
Gregory O'Kane – An Antrim legend and still doing the business for Dunloy. 'Dick' entered management last year with UUJ and led them to the Higher Education Division 2 title, although lost out in the Ryan Cup final. His job allows him to live with the lesser commitments of the higher education scene, but having tasted a bit of managerial success, could be tempted to rejig his commitments and enter the inter-county arena.
Ger Loughnane – Forget all the sound-bites from Loughnane that he's finished with management after being dumped by Galway last year. The ego of the Clareman means that an offer - any offer - to return to senior management will be seriously considered by the RTE pundit who guided his native county to two All-Irelands in the 90s.
Brian McGilligan – The Derry All-Ireland football medallist is a wild card in more ways than one. He has never made any secret of the fact that hurling is his first love but he is constantly at loggerheads with the Derry county board over their lack of support for the game. Derry have punched above their weight under the Kevin Lynchs man and working with a county board that is supportive of hurling would be a welcome change.
Vincent Teehan – A teacher at St Declan's in Cabra and long-time coach of the Dublin colleges side, Teehan is now assistant to Anthony Daly. The former Offaly star is a dyed-in-the-wool Dub these days but like all assistants must yearn for a taste of the spotlight every now and again. His working hours as a teacher would mean that the trek from Dublin wouldn't be such an issue in the summer months.
Shane Elliott – Recognised as one of the best coaches in the county, the Dunloy man entered management two years ago as part of a trio including Gary O'Kane and Seamus McMullan, to guide the Cuchulainns to the county title in their first year. A definite future county manager, whether it's this time round or not remains to be seen.
Liam Griffin – The Wexford man has formed a close relationship with the Dunloy club throughout the nineties and knows what it takes to bring a struggling county to the top. His degree in sports psychology would come in handy in helping the Saffrons to figure out why they can beat Wexford one week and lose to Carlow the next.
Humphrey Kelleher – Waterford native Kelleher was never given the credit for the progress he made with Dublin. Kelleher managed the Dubs for two seasons and although success on the field wasn't forthcoming, when he took over the reins the Dublin Development Plan was really only kicking in at minor level. He was the first to instil the mindset of the 'county hurler' into the Dubs that has been built upon by successive managers.
Justin McCarthy – Having led Antrim to an All Ireland intermediate title back in 1970, the Cork native has retained a soft spot for the Saffrons. He has stated his intention to see out his second year with Limerick, but with the knives out for him after their All Ireland semi-final collapse, the Limerick County Board might have other ideas.
Padjoe Whelehan – The wily maestro from St Rynagh's received a visit from then Antrim chairman Joe O'Boyle back in 2001 with a view to taking on the county manager's job. He thought long and hard about it before turning it down, but after an unsuccessful tilt with Limerick, he could be tempted back into the senior county arena.
Joey Carton – It's a long way for the Waterford man to travel but it's a journey he makes on a regular basis anyway. Munster Council Hurling Development Manager Carton is one of the most highly respected coaches in hurling and is at the key man at the Munster end of the North Antrim Twinning Programme. He has coached Waterford at every underage level.
