Glen may only have emerged from Derry for the first time in 2021, but Michael Warnock still saw a pathway to the national stage for the club.
Having retained their county title and added an Ulster title after a thrilling final win over reigning All-Ireland champions Kilcoo last month, they play Moycullen in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final, the Galway champions having also conquered their province for the first time after only recently becoming a force in their own county.
Prior to losing by a point to Magherafelt in 2019, Glen had never even contested a county final but Warnock believed the potential was there to do something when he first came through as a senior player more than a decade ago.
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“I suppose the arrogance in you probably did,” he admits. “I suppose any player that wants to compete at this level, there is a level of arrogance.
“It was hard to see that when we first started playing at senior level. We always felt as a group if we stuck at it the quality was there and we could win a Derry Championship, and when you beat Slaughtneil and you know where they have been – in two All-Ireland clubs – it gives you good confidence going into Ulster.
“When you beat the likes of Scotstown and Letterkenny last year and you get beaten after extra-time against Kilcoo you realise we’re not a million miles away.”
There have been two key figures to their emergence in the last couple of years, however. The return of Conor Glass from Australia, where he was on the books of AFL club Hawthorn, has had a transformative effect for not just Glen but Derry too.
And with Malachy O’Rourke in charge, they have arguably the best manager in Gaelic football at present.
“It was a massive plus knowing that Conor was coming back,” says Warnock. “I suppose people were trying to predict how long it would take him to adjust to the game again.
“But having played with Conor briefly before he went to Australia I’d a fair idea it wasn’t going to take him as long as people thought.
“And with Malachy and Ryan [Porter] coming in was just a massive plus for us as a group because they’ve been there and done and have so much experience at all levels. They were two massive factors – and two factors that we’re glad to have.”
Indeed, O’Rourke was sought after on the inter-county circuit over the closed season but Glen remained his priority.
“We understand the profile of Malachy and Ryan and the quality they have. He’s arguably up there with the best managers in Ireland so we understand counties are going to be looking for him and that comes with the territory.
“Thankfully, wherever Malachy has gone, he’s stayed for a period of time – the longer he stays with us, the better and we’ll try and make hay while the sun shines while we have him.”
And while O’Rourke deserves much credit for Glen’s recent breakthrough, he came into a club with a well established ethos, some of which was borrowed from Ulster’s most successful outfit, as Warnock explains.
“Growing up through the underage structures in Glen we tried to emulate the model in Crossmaglen and kicking the ball and we wanted to be seen as great kickers and that took us quite a few years to adjust at senior level as teams were that bit more defensive.
“I think a lot of it comes down to the perception of the game: if you’re a traditionalist you want to see long kicks.
“But if you looked at the Ulster final I don’t think you’ll find a better game. There was off-the-ball-stuff, heavy hits, goals, points, black cards.
“For me, I actually enjoy watching how teams break down the blanket defence, and I think teams have become a lot better at that, and that’s down to coaching.
“The game isn’t as defensive as what it was, or this perception of what it was when Donegal introduced it with Jim McGuinness. Unfortunately for him he's been tarred with the one brush in that sense.
“But I think certainly it is changing in that sense and teams are becoming a lot better. For me I actually enjoy seeing how teams set up and how they're going to be broken down.”
A former Derry hurler, Warnock is encouraged by the spectacular progress that the county footballers made under Rory Gallagher last year - but he isn’t anticipating a call once Glen’s run comes to an end.
“I played a half a year under Damian Barton. I would have hurled for the county for a number of years, left that and went and played under Damian and then stepped away.
“I’m turning 30 this week, I’m pushing on, I’m getting married and building a house. My priorities are slightly changing away from football to other things in life – and club football takes up a lot of time.
“Nobody wants to see Derry do better than myself, but I’d say at this stage in my life that’s probably past itself.”
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