Joyce said his annual end-of-season review process <\/a>played a key role in the decision. As always, it involved honest conversations with players and backroom staff, and a clear-eyed assessment of where Galway stand. \u201cI do it every year,\u201d he said. \u201cI always review the year independently with the players and the backroom team. The reason I\u2019m involved with Galway is for the betterment of Galway football, not for the betterment of me. So I did pause on it for a while, but after talking with the players, we agreed to stick at it.\u201d<\/p>\nThere is no sense of Joyce returning to settle scores or to \u201cset the record straight\u201d. Instead, he believes Galway remain a work in progress \u2014 close, but not complete. :When I set out on the job, I made my statement from day one about what my ambition was,\u201d he said. \u201cWe still haven\u2019t got there yet. It\u2019s a new challenge again. Players change over the years, but the enthusiasm is there in the backroom team. While we might not have got to the top table in terms of winning an All-Ireland, we are being talked about as one of the top teams in the country \u2014 which hadn\u2019t been the case for a long number of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been a lot of progress made. We\u2019ve a great group of players. Now it\u2019s about finding that little bit extra to get us over the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joyce is under no illusions that standing still is not an option. Galway\u2019s near misses have prompted a fresh look at how they can evolve within a rapidly changing game. \u201cThere will be changes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to change something because what we\u2019re doing hasn\u2019t been good enough to get us over the line. Last year was different with the first year of the new rules, but I thought we adapted quite well. There are more tweaks again this year \u2014 certain aspects of the rules have changed slightly \u2014 and it\u2019s about understanding those and getting the best out of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The modern game, Joyce believes, has moved well beyond traditional positional structures. \u201cThe game is no longer six defenders, two midfielders and six forwards,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s three in the full-back line, eight in the middle third and three up top. That\u2019s how teams are being picked now. The numbers on the backs won\u2019t mean much this year. It\u2019s about style of play and how teams adapt to the rules \u2014 that\u2019s going to be the big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most notable changes this season is the addition of renowned performance coach Darragh Sheridan to the Galway setup. The former Aston Villa apprentice has built an impressive CV through his work with the IRFU and brings elite-level conditioning expertise to both the footballers and hurlers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDarragh is a Galway man,\u201d Joyce said. \u201cI\u2019ve known him a good few years and worked with him myself over the last couple of seasons. He was involved with the hurlers last year as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stepped down from his role with the IRFU, so he was available. We got in contact with the county board and now he\u2019s looking after both teams. He\u2019s a big help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joyce believes Sheridan\u2019s influence will extend beyond fitness alone. \u201cThat\u2019s his remit \u2014 high performance,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s been heavily involved in the cultural development within the IRFU and worked very closely with coaching teams there. He\u2019s been to New Zealand and has seen how elite environments operate. He\u2019s a very educated fella and brings great freshness. He\u2019s also a great voice for the players to learn off. The fact that he\u2019s one of our own is a big plus.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the playing front, Galway will be without Matthew Thompson for the Allianz League, with the young midfielder heading to Berkeley University to continue his studies. \u201cMatthew\u2019s heading to Berkeley next week,\u201d Joyce said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big opportunity for him. He\u2019s had a super year with us and he\u2019s in great shape at the minute. He\u2019ll be a big loss, but hopefully when he comes back he\u2019ll be in good condition for the rest of the campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter Cooke\u2019s availability remains uncertain, with Joyce confirming the forward\u2019s commitment will depend on whether he is based at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Peter is to commit, he\u2019ll have to be at home,\u201d Joyce said. \u201cI\u2019ve spoken to him a couple of times. We\u2019ll know more in another week or two. He won\u2019t be able to commit if he\u2019s travelling back and forth from London.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the focus on the All-Ireland, Joyce insists Galway will not downplay the importance of Connacht \u2014 even with the prospect of a fifth title in a row.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t see five in a row as a massive thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was great to win four, but I put huge value on the Connacht Championship. It\u2019s a brilliant competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you win your province, you go into the All-Ireland series with confidence. If you lose a final, it can be difficult to regroup.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur players don\u2019t want to lose games \u2014 not to Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo or Leitrim. We\u2019ll put a big emphasis on it. If we get five, brilliant. If not, we\u2019ll take it on the chin and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
P\u00e1draic Joyce was speaking at the launch of the 2026 FBD Connacht League. FBD, proud sponsors of the Connacht League.<\/p>\n
Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Galway manager says decision to return was driven by unfinished ambition after two All-Ireland final defeatsREPRO FREE ***PRESS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[30883,42189,118555,4183,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-231957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-galway-gaa","tag-all-ireland-football-championship","tag-connacht-senior-football-championship","tag-gaa","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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