By Louise Glass

At the start of the year, Derry manager Damian Cassidy pulled Gerard O’Kane to one side and mooted the possibility of handing the county captaincy to the young Glenullin man.

Cassidy told Gerard to go away and think about it for a while, but before the conversation between the two men had even finished, the latter had his mind made up.
Taking on the captaincy of any team is undoubtedly a privilege, but it’s by no means easy either. Taking on the captaincy of Derry, a team with so many great players, but which is at times frustratingly inconsistent is a role some wouldn’t envy.
“I had no doubt in my mind I was going to accept it and felt it was something I was going to fully throw myself into,” said Gerard.
“Damian would not just throw that upon someone and would make sure that the individual felt they were happy with it, that’s why he left it with me, but having shown faith to ask me, I felt that I had the confidence to take it on.”

11 March 2007; Gerard, in action against Charlie Vernon, Armagh. NFL Oliver Plunkett Park, Crossmaglen

Clearly Cassidy, an All-Ireland medal winner in 1993, has faith in the young man who watched his idols lift the Sam Maguire in Croke Park almost two decades ago.
And with Gerard’s track record it’s no surprise. Since 2002 the defender has amassed an impressive collection of honours for club, county, college and university.
He captained Derry minors to All-Ireland glory in 2002 and just a few months later he led St Patrick’s College, Maghera to MacRory and Hogan success.
That led to a call up to the senior county squad in 2004 however, he had to wait until 2008 to taste his first success at senior inter-county football when the Oak Leafs claimed the National League title.
With Queens University he finally won the Sigerson Cup in 2007, after finishing runner-up the previous two years, as well as the Ryan Cup. And with his club Glenullin, 2007 also saw him collect the Derry Senior Football Championship and the Ulster Senior Club Football League.

Maybe Cassidy looked back on the 25-year-old’s achievements, and in particular his success with the teams he has captained, and thought O’Kane could be the key to unlocking the closed trophy cabinet, particularly the Championship one. It might well be that as a captain, Cassidy has that little bit of luck that every team needs to succeed.
“Yeah, I feel luck has a lot to do with it. But having been successful in other areas before carries no guarantees. For any team to win anything, they need a large slice of luck so hopefully I can carry that on through with me and it may reap the rewards at some point in the year,” he said

As an accountant, Gerard is well used to working with numbers, and while everyone else sees the odds as stacked against Derry, he prefers to see this current era as similar to the fallow period after the county won three successive Ulster titles in the seventies.
It doesn’t make it any less frustrating but armed with the statistics, Gerard lays it down in black and white.
“The most frustrating part is the lack of consistency that we have shown as a team,” he said.
“In the period from ‘05-’09 we have been beaten in five Ulster semi-finals by five different teams. It not like there is one team continually turning us over and from that point of view it has been very disappointing.
“One national league in seven seasons with no Ulster final appearance is pretty disappointing but since 1976 when Derry won the three in-a-row, they have only won three Ulster titles. Aside from the ’93 team, this era is similar to that one.”
O’Kane believes Derry can make the breakthrough but only if they manage to get over the mental barrier of failure – or success – in the Championship arena.
He added: “If success is measured by trophies then we are on a level par with all of the other counties in Ulster. We are consistently playing Division One football and in terms of Championship we have been to a few All-Ireland semi-finals and quarter-finals over the last eight or nine years.
“Only one team can win the All-Ireland and only three counties have won the last seven, but it is up to the rest of the counties to work that bit harder to break that stranglehold.

21 June 2009; Gerard in action against Sean Cavanagh, Tyrone.

“For us the National League is all about building a squad capable of playing championship football. It will not be until the last three or four league games that a team will start to take shape. That is by no way demeaning the league, but trying to balance out everything in its context.
“I want to raise the bar this year in terms of consistency and level of performance but I realise that will not only take serious hard work and commitment but a large slice of luck as well.”