New Monaghan manager John McEntee knows Farney county football ‘inside out’ says Rory Beggan

NEW manager John McEntee will begin his first inter-county job with Monaghan equipped with a wealth of knowledge about football in the county, says Rory Beggan.

Crossmaglen native McEntee, who includes clubmate Tony Kernan in his backroom team, has replaced the hard-working Gabriel Bannigan at the Farney county helm after stints as manager of Clontibret and Inniskeen.

Beggan is confident that Armagh All-Ireland winner McEntee will know the players “inside out” and have the best of them on the field when Monaghan begin their Division Two campaign early next year.

“I’m looking forward to getting to meet him,” said Beggan who won’t be involved with his county until Scotstown’s Ulster and, he will hope, All-Ireland campaigns have come to an end.

“We haven’t been about with the team yet and we’re hoping we won’t be for a while because we’re still in this (club) competition. John has serious knowledge of Monaghan football, he’s been there since 2019 and won a championship with Clontibret and nearly another one with Inniskeen.

“So he’ll know the players inside out and he’ll get the best players involved, he comes from a very successful playing career himself so he knows what it takes to win and he has surrounded himself with good people as well so I’m looking forward to seeing him and chatting with him but for now the focus is on Scotstown.”

Last season came to a disappointing end for Beggan and Monaghan when they lost to a battling Louth team at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage. For the first time in his career Beggan was forced to miss a championship game with a hamstring injury and the ‘Wee County’ won by three point.

“It was devastating to miss that game,” he said.

“You always want to play in Croke Park and I’d never missed a championship game with Monaghan, I have been very lucky in my career.

“I thought I could rush back and play the Louth game but as the week went on it wasn’t getting any better and I ended up being three months out with it. I missed the first three games in the group stage of the championship and got back for the last one. With the physios and the set-up we have it was easy to get back in because you have such good people around you.”

Beggan returned to captain Scotstown to their 10^th Monaghan title in 12 years and their fourth on-the-trot, kicking four two-point frees as the ‘An Bhoth’ side beat Truagh in style.

Going on to win a first-ever Ulster club last year was “definitely up there” in his career achievements and Beggan and his teammates begin the defence of their crown against Derry champions Magherafelt at Clones on Sunday.

“I was fighting for years to try and win an Ulster club and when it came last year there was a sense of relief,” he said.

“It was great to think: ‘Yes, we finally got it done’ and there were a few days after it when the buzz in the community was just at a different level. When you fight for something so hard and you’ve had near misses, when it finally comes it’s all the sweeter.”