I am off to Galway today, co-commentating with the loquacious John Kenny on the Galway United and recently deposed League leaders St. Patrick's Athletic fixture in Terryland Park.
It is a very important match for both clubs. Home defeats are hard pills to swallow; consequently both United and Pat’s will interpret this game as an opportunity to get back to winning ways.
I really enjoyed my trip to Sligo last weekend. The game itself offered really fine entertainment and the home crowd as always rose to the occasion.
I must admit to a great love of travelling the roads of rural Ireland. After many years traversing the drab motorways of England I always anticipate eagerly the opportunity to journey across Ireland, and I am rarely disappointed.
Last Friday was warm and sunny, and the Irish countryside, responding as ever to the slightest bit of encouragement, was at its most resplendent. Sitting alone in the elevated comfort of my lovely wife's car my senses revelled at the scenes of pastoral perfection.
Field after field of charming rustic elegance rolling back into hills of such mesmerising beauty that words, no matter how well I attempt to phrase them, fail dismally to convey the grandeur supplied in such abundance.
We live in a visually pleasant land, with dark mysterious rivers flowing with unbridled passion through terrain guarded majestically by imposing mountains, dropping into valleys offering such reflective serenity that one would quite willingly dally forever in the timeless beauty.
A fine summers day in Ireland encourages one to visualise the Divine Creator, sitting contentedly on his throne, head nodding slowly, as he survey's the green jewel sparkling below him in the clear Atlantic waters.
The journey back to Dublin activated the paradoxical element of my personality.
Essentially because our roads have thankfully yet to acquire the ghastly and garish lighting seen elsewhere, there is something about travelling through the Irish night that induces a contemplative demeanour in even the most gregarious individual.
When I was in football the atmosphere in the team bus supplied much for a manager to think about. If the game had been unproductive, conversation withered gradually as individuals withdrew into their own private world to access the damage done. Even after fruitful forays into enemy territory a long day’s journey into night provokes periods of introspection.
As a player I always reconstructed my performance in moments like this. The ability to replay an entire game back to oneself seems, on the surface an admirable quality, but it has its faults I can assure you. However, a good professional footballer turns disappointment into motivation and by journeys end he is already looking forward to the next game.
On the other hand a manager is not afforded such luxury. On many occasions the external darkness is merely reflective of the despair that envelops the heart.
The mind of a manager can be a strange and lonely place and 
although experience sometimes grants one the ability to introduce a more balanced perception, the solitary periods of apprenticeship has often stunted the growth of many a talented manager.
This introspective mentality that is an integral aspect of every manager is quite fascinating.
We all have our own individual motivational characteristics and in my opinion they reflect the person we are and the type of teams’ teams we produce. For example, some managers like to engender a ‘them and us’ situation while others prefer to go all the way and become completely paranoid.
Because of the independence and various distractions now applicable to the modern player a manager now more than ever has to have a strong personality. Whatever the personality of the man in charge is it will almost certainly manifest itself in the type of performances his team produces and the style, or lack of style, thereof.
With much thought and careful observation one can gauge quite effectively the personality of the man in charge by watching his team in action.
So, this is a vital game in Galway. However, there is more to a game of football than just the football. In truth, the game is only a part of the extensible operation required to keep a team on the road.
D Richardson.
