This article is from page 74 of the 2008-04-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 74 JPG
EARLIER this year, Colin Lynch met and addressed the 2008 Clare minor panel for the first time. Af- ter the meeting had finished, the panel and management had decided on their goal for the year. The aim would be Croke Park. Anything less would be interpreted as an opportu- nity lost and just by mentioning the country’s top stadium, this group had already lifted expectations in Clare football.
Michael Considine looks back over the past few months and says that all the negativity that has surrounded football in this county is unneces- sary, but he believes it’s up to those involved at the coalface to rid Clare of that mindset.
“We’ve got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves in Clare,’ says Considine. ‘“We’ve got to raise the bar and that’s down to ourselves. Clare teams have to be going out wanting to get to Munster finals, wanting to get to All Ireland quarter finals. Until we start thinking that we’re good enough to raise the bar and until we get rid of that negativity we’re never going to 20 forward.”
Look across the country and you’ll find that no team at this level has pre- pared better. Considine, along with James Murrihy and Colm Collins have covered all bases. Former Ker- ry goalkeeper Declan O’ Keeffe was brought in to add another dimension to goalkeeping training, Collins has been involved in improving fitness since the beginning of October and all players have had ongoing access to training facilities over the past seven months.
So far, over 50 sessions have been logged and according to Considine, every player has shown application and dedication.
“We sat down back in September and October and decided that we were going to put pride back in the jersey. For too long lads have been getting it too easy. When they go out in championship games with 10 min- utes to go they’re blowing up, they’re hiding.
‘“That’s one thing that we can guar- antee – that the 15 guys who go out against Kerry in Cusack Park will have earned their Clare shirt.”
Though it’s Kerry, the objective doesn’t shift. Play well and progress. Despite the safety net that exists — the team that loses on Wednesday goes
into a Munster Final playoff, with the first game scheduled for April 16 — Considine says that Clare are go- ing out to win at all costs tomorrow night.
“T don’t buy into this theory that it doesn’t matter if we win on Wednes- day. My view is that we’re going out to beat Kerry and I believe we’re good enough to beat Kerry.
“The bottom line is we’ve put in a savage effort. Just think about tt: 50 sessions since October 5. These young fellas have given their hearts and souls to the county jersey and if you base it on the fact that you get out of it what you put in, then we’re in with more than a fighting chance.”
Undoubtedly, a Kerry scalp — on the back of the Under 21 win over Kerry last year — would provide growing
evidence that a core group of tal- ented players are coming through the grades. Ensuring they remain inter- ested and ensuring the incentives ex- ist then becomes the aim.
“We’ve got to make it attractive for players. We’ve got to have a profes- sional set-up and fellas have to be looked after. I can’t complain with the minor set-up, because anything we ve asked for we got it.
“But to keep moving forward the right structures have to be in place. There was a lot of talk about the Un- der 15 set-up this year. No mentor moved from the Under 14 to Under 15 SO we’ve a new Set-up coming in who don’t really know the players and it means the players aren’t as comfort- able. ““What happens then is you can lose three or four players through the
net and that’s not good enough. You have to keep the continuity. Once you’ve a relationship built up, you stay with them and move up along the line.”
With a reasonably tight base of players to work with, the directive given to potential dual players to chose between hurling and football could have had a negative effect on preparations. Considine rolled with it though.
“The [minor] hurling management made their decision that lads would have to make their choice. My think- ing on it is that lads should have the opportunity to play both codes up to minor. I think in a county like Clare if we had lost some of those lads [dual players], it would have been a serious blow to our team.
‘Now, I’m sure that them three guys are a loss to the hurling side, but good luck to the hurling management, they stuck to their beliefs and they believe they’re in contention for All Ireland honours. If that pans out, then they’ Il have been proved right.”
Last year, Considine watched from the sideline as his Clare side were beaten by Limerick after a replay. A dozen of that team are in conten- tion to start this year. Stronger, wiser and just as focused. A win tomor- row night would be reward in itself for Clare’s persistence and effort. A win that could be the first step on that road to Croke Park.