Frustrated Johnny Magee says he needs magic wand to succeed at Wicklow

Not many GAA managers would compare themselves to Professor Albus Dumbledore – and Johnny Magee isn’t about to start.

A worst ever Allianz Football League campaign – culminating in the two-point defeat to London in Baltinglass, leaving them joint-bottom of Division Four – has already put Magee under pressure, even if the former Dublin defender took charge only this season.

Now, as Magee prepares his Wicklow team to face Meath in the Leinster championship on June 14th, he has hit back at his critics – drawing on the legendary headmaster at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.

"I'm not bleedin' Dumbledore," said Magee, in a lengthy interview with the Wicklow People (Dumbledore being famous, amongst many things, for winning "every prize of note that the school offered").

“I can’t wave a magic wand and produce a footballer out of nothing and replace experienced soldiers for Wicklow who left their hearts out on the field.

“You can’t just produce players like that. Look at the amount of players we’ve lost or who are injured or retired within the last f*****g 12 months. Huge names.”

Magee also questions whether any manager from the elite football counties would fare any better, and also references the time Mick O’Dwyer was in charge of Wicklow: “How many times have Wicklow got out of Division Four in their history? Once? Harry [Murphy] got them out two or three years ago, they didn’t stay up for whatever reason.

“Micko [O’Dwyer] never got out of Division Four in all the time he was here.

“Let’s twist it around; if Jim Gavin took over a Division Four team or Rory Gallagher took over a Division Four team, [would they succeed]?”