Derek Lyng is sitting in one of the swanky diningrooms in Langtons Hotel, in the heart of the Marble City, talking us through the natural path of his ascension into arguably the biggest job in the annals of hurling.
Taking over from Brian Cody as Kilkenny manager.
It’s the first time in 24 seasons that Cody has not been in charge: during that time, he sat in this same hotel ahead of 17 All-Ireland finals, 11 of which he won, a record left well beyond any means of parallel.
Lyng is listing off all the things about the job which appealed to him when he’s asked about feeling any pressure.
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“All the time,” Lyng says with a smile. “I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t pressure. Expectations are always high, and that’s fine. You try to focus on what you can control, if you work hard, hopefully results come your way.”
In truth there was no great pressure to bring Kilkenny back into an All-Ireland final, in his first year, after Cody stepped down in the near aftermath of last year’s final defeat to Limerick. After all Cody didn’t win an All-Ireland in his first year.
“The aim here is always to get to an All-Ireland final. It wasn’t going to be straightforward and it has proven not to be. We just about got over the line in a couple of games. The year has flown by, to be honest, and we’re really happy with where we’re at. We know what’s ahead of us, a huge task. But I’d prefer to be there, to be challenging for it.
“And I think a lot of people would say, you know, ‘you’ve done well to get to a final’ or whatever. But I think for this group, for ourselves, we’re really looking to put in a performance that wins us the game. I think the game is something that we have to attack, rather than fear, going into it. When you reflect on the year, and you get an opportunity to win, you obviously want to take it with both hands.”
He’s right about the year flying by: now 45, Lyng was ratified on the evening of August 4th, 12 days after Cody stepped down, the speed of his appointment of no surprise given his qualifications: a six-time All-Ireland, all under Cody’s reign, he then served six years as Cody’s selector, before taking on the Kilkenny Under-20 job for three years, winning the All-Ireland last May.
“You never set out saying you’re going to spend x-amount of time in a role or in different jobs. I started off as a selector not long after playing when I finished up with my club, then the opportunity came with the Under-20s, which I wanted to take on. I did that for a couple of years.
“Obviously this happened last year, Brian stepped, away and that’s how that came about. That’s what it has taken for me to get there and I’m happy with that. I thoroughly enjoy it, I’m hugely passionate about hurling and Kilkenny hurling. I suppose there are lots of other hobbies that I could be doing, but this is something I really enjoy.”
It’s inevitable he’s carrying over many of the lessons learned from his time with Cody, while conscious too that imitation would only take him so far.
“I’ve been in his environment, as a player and selector, for such a long time. I suppose the standards he set for himself, and everybody around him. We were always challenged as players, and I think they were obviously the main bits. But you pick up bits and pieces here and there, different situations and that.
[ Derek Lyng bringing his own slant to Kilkenny after end of Brian Cody eraOpens in new window ]
“Look, obviously he was a phenomenal manager. But I think it’s important that you bring your own personality to it. I don’t think you can go into a role and try to be somebody else. You’ll be found out pretty quickly. My intention when I took this on, you have ambitions of getting to finals and things like that, but the most important thing was to not let the standards drop.
“If you’re looking at what somebody else has achieved, I mean, you’ll run a mile away from it. That wasn’t my concern at all. It genuinely was about making sure standards didn’t drop. My whole objective was to maintain those standards, even raise them higher. Build a really strong environment in there.”
Indeed he hasn’t looked to Cody for any advice over the year, nor does he ever intend too: “The only time I spoke to Brian was in the aftermath, he phoned to congratulate me. No, I think when you’re taking on something like that, it’s a bit like retiring, it’s a decision you have to make yourself.
“Look, my gut instinct straight away was that I wanted the job. I mean, opportunities like that, you don’t know when they’re going to come around. There is a jump, no question about it. This year it’s the intensity of all the games as well. I have a busy job and three kids at home and they have lives to get on with as well, and my wife, so there’s a lot happening.
“But I’d be lying if you said you are not distracted some of the time, particularly when it gets to the bigger occasions like the last couple of weeks. It’s about making sure that we can put our best foot forward and really go at this game.”
