Surprise as MacNeil eyes referee role
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FORMER Scotland shinty boss Drew MacNeil might become a "whistle blower" – by being a referee rather than a manager this season.
The 50-year-old has taken time out from the sport as a boss, but his bid to take charge of matches could keep him at the heart of the action.
MacNeil, who confirmed that he did not apply for the vacant position of Scotland manager after spending close to a decade as part of the Scotland back room staff, also revealed that he may well have continued as the head man at Glenurquhart if the timing had been different.
The Lochaber man started off as a national coach before becoming assistant to Fraser Mackenzie and then taking on the top job himself for four years.
He said: "I was getting to the point where I was hogging it to be honest. I think it’s a very privileged position. There’s lots and lots of people who deserve the chance to do it. I felt very priviledged when I got it.
"I remember having a discussion with my mum about not going for it. She said you might never get the opportunity again and that actually made me go for it. I never regretted it for a second. I‘ve really, really enjoyed it - it’s a great experience."
MacNeil, who works as an employability adviser with Highland Council in Inverness, said he was still keen to take part in the game this season.
He revealed: "I might referee, I don’t know. I need to do something with my Saturdays. I’ve refereed before, years ago and I do enjoy refereeing. It’s a hard job. I don’t know how I’d take to it. It’s a good learning curve. I miss playing. I played again this season, in two games, against Newtonmore and really enjoyed that and against Fort William."
MacNeil explained he could have returned to the Glenurquhart hot-seat – if the timing had been different.
He previously co-managed the Premiership team with Fraser MacKenzie, but surprisingly ruled himself out of taking the job again three months ago and Billy MacLean and Dave Menzies are now back at the helm.
However, ahead of the new season which swings into action on March 1, he explained: "When Glenurquhart re-appoint their managers, you have to apply for it in October. The national set-up for me didn’t finish until November and I’m three or four days a week involved in shinty. I didn’t have a chance – particularly at the end of last season to sit and assess where I’d got with Glenurquhart.
"I couldn’t commit 100 per cent and if I’m involved in something I do it 100 per cent.
"I decided not to reapply purely because I didn’t have the time to sit down and look at where I was and look at the squad and if we’d done well or if we hadn’t done well. If it had been January I’d probably have been throwing my hat back in the ring because I would have had time to re-group."
During the former Fort William player and boss’s tenure alongside co-manager MacKenzie, Glenurquhart won the club’s first senior trophy – the 2012 Macaulay Cup and narrowly missed out on the MacTavish last year. He added: "Myself and Fraser MacKenzie did it for two-years. We did really well. We really enjoyed it and we put a lot of work into it. We got a lot out of it. The guys were brilliant the way they responded to us.
"I’ll be a regular visitor down at Glenurquhart. My allegiance would be to Glenurquhart. I was there for two years and we covered a lot of ground with the guys. I’m still involved with the kids so I’m tied to them."
Despite his acknowledgement that he won’t be managing this season he said it is something he intends to return to and he has already received some offers.
