Dowd cites local knowledge as key to meeting targets
Mark Dowd has given his first media briefing as Roscommon senior football manager.
Roscommon senior football manager, Mark Dowd, believes that the new management team’s knowledge of the local club scene and the county as a whole can help the Rossies meet their targets during their three years at the helm.
Speaking to the local media on Wednesday evening for the first time since his appointment, Dowd felt that the team needed Roscommon people at the helm, which he hopes will engender a satisfactory work ethic alongside pride and passion in the jersey.
“I’m an in-house Roscommon man. I know the players that are in there. With the lads (Iain Daly and John Rogers) alongside me in the backroom team, we know Roscommon football inside out. We know what’s coming through.
“I have a close connection with U-20 manager Cian Smith. Between us all, we feel that we know what players will be able to step up to this level.
“Given where the team are at the moment, I feel that it’s important to have local people involved who have a knowledge of the Roscommon scene.
"When you’re involved with your own county, it brings a lot of pride and a lot of passion.
“We want a good work ethic within the squad, alongside having that bit of passion and that bit of pride, and knowing that when you’re in the trenches, you’re able to eke out those results.
"If we can get those things right as opposed to looking at bigger targets, we’ll see what happens after that,” he explained.
Dowd confirmed that St. Dominic’s defender Eoin McCormack has returned to the panel, while Darragh Heneghan (Michael Glaveys), Eoin Ward (Fuerty) and Pádraig Pearses players Jack Tumulty, Conor Ryan, Eoin Colleran, Seán Canning, and Mark Richardson are among the new faces that have been drafted into the new manager’s panel for the 2026 season.
