No matter what happened against Cavan in the Ulster SFC last weekend, Lenny Harbinson had his mind made up to leave his role as Antrim senior football manager.
"We didn't get promoted from Division 4 this year and we barely missed out on it last year and I have to take responsibility for that," he says.
"I was there three years, with a brilliant backroom team, and we didn’t get promoted in that time. That will be what partly defines my legacy as Antrim manager, fairly or otherwise.
"Once we didn’t get league promotion, no matter what happened in the Championship I was going to step aside.
"Someone else has to come in and take it on now and drive it on. They have to."
"I was well aware of the challenge ahead, but I felt the nucleus of our panel was enough that it was going to make us competitive."
It wasn’t for the want of trying that they didn’t climb the tiers.
In his first year in charge of the team, Harbinson put a huge emphasis on strength and conditioning and bringing the squad up to speed with the intense and rigorous demands of the modern game.
It’s estimated that they trained 150 times in the first season alone, working out four to five nights a week from when they first began in October and tapering for league and championship as the year unfolded.
He felt they were behind the posse but there was huge satisfaction in seeing players rise to what he threw at them.
"We came close to gaining promotion in years two and three, we came out on the wrong side of close results, but sport is full of what ifs and a lot of managers could say something similar.
"We worked so hard. From when I was a footballer with St Galls it was always my aspiration to play for my county and I did that for 12 years whether it was Division 2A or 2B at the time. The goal then was to climb out of the bottom tier too.
"Then when I took over then as manager, we had a big challenge with a load of work ongoing behind the scenes in terms of development, what we were doing and what we were not doing as a county.
"I was well aware of the challenge ahead, but I felt the nucleus of our panel was enough that it was going to make us competitive.
"Ultimately, for Antrim to improve and be consistent we have to reach a higher level than Division 4; one that improves players. And in the three years I had with them we weren’t able to achieve that.
"Against Cavan a few times we had chances to win the game, opportunities that we didn’t capitalise on and we were sloppy, giving the ball away. At that level you get punished and we need more exposure to that higher level to help ensure more consistency."
A 2019 qualifier away win to Louth was their most impressive championship outing during Harbinson’s time in charge even if there were Ulster defeats to Down, Tyrone and Cavan.
But he felt there was always progression. And the early days of his tenure were simply about resetting the dial.
"Getting the basics right, statistics and analysis - the modern player demands those off you. Making sure the logistics were spot on, for away games, especially. Being on time for training, having all the facilities and equipment right," he says.
"Feeding the team with information on opponents, teams and referees - that was the environment we wanted, and I think we established a good foundation.
"The next person to take the job needs to come in now and add another dimension because no county is going to stand still so we can’t either."
Harbinson works in a business environment where he runs a sales team and encourages colleagues to acknowledge what was good and challenge what wasn’t in their professional roles.
He adapted a similar framework to his managerial role with Antrim.
"I was keen to do that," he said."I tried to bring that into the football set-up. There is no straight line in life, and we needed to work towards the next challenge that was coming down the tracks.
"The players could give feedback at all times.
"For example, in year one we trained four or five times a week because we were behind in some areas.
"This year we had tapered it to be only out three times a week but with double sessions included. Strength and conditioning before a pitch session, for example.
"We said to the players, 'here’s the compromise', and we condensed it for them so they wouldn’t be on the road the whole time.
"All along the expectation from Antrim fans was that we would get promotion - and maybe at least one sunny day out in the championship. We were always aware of that and that’s why it hurt when we didn’t make Division 3. You commit everything to it."
"My view is that we don't need Mickey Mouse competitions like the O’Byrne Cup or the McKenna Cup - they should be done away with."
It won’t be his concern anymore but Harbinson would like to see a properly structured and marketed Tailteann Cup to help counties like his own make progress.
"I see Cork with a last-minute winner at the weekend and that’s what knockout is all about. "That’s okay for Cork and Kerry, fair play to them, because they both have great histories to fall back upon. But I remember my 12 years as a player with Antrim and a lot of the time we played one match and went straight out year on year.
"Was that of any benefit to Antrim? No.
"My view is that we don’t need Mickey Mouse competitions like the O’Byrne Cup or the McKenna Cup - they should be done away with.
"The league is fair - teams are in divisions they deserve to be in and that’s the hard and fast of it.
"Regarding a second-tier system, will it be properly funded? Will there be TV exposure? What will the PR around it be like? Can it be a ladder back to the main championship?
"Once the answer to the above questions is ‘yes’ then we should be happy to compete, to be in with a chance."
