This article is from page 85 of the 2008-01-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 85 JPG
HIS first steps as an inter-county manager and though Clare didn’t ex- actly take a scalp at Miltown, Frank Doherty and his players walked away under a heavy sky with a victory. Job done and the importance of the win is noticeable.
After more than two months on the training fields of Clare, defeat against UCC could have dented morale and
stifled early season progression and Doherty recognises the importance of a healthy start.
“I think it was clear to everyone that we tried to play football when- ever we had the chance,’ he says. “I thought for the first outing of the year, the lads did reasonably well. I knew we were physical enough and we had the fitness work done, but you never know how lads are going to perform. The first 20 minutes we were well on
top and had four or five points of a lead built up and then lads kind of slipped into the comfort zone.
“They sat back and coasted for the rest of the half and that gave UCC the chance to get back into the game.”
If there was any lingering fear that Clare might be turned over in the second-half, it slowly became obvi- ous that Clare’s grip on the game wouldn’t slip. Again, Doherty drew confidence from this.
“We tagged on three points in the second-half and UCC only got one, SO we were well on top. We didn’t give them much opportunity to cre- ate anything from play but the second half was tough going. The pitch cut up, it was difficult to hop the ball.
“UCC will have high aspirations for the Sigerson Cup and they’ve a lot of work done themselves. That’s why I felt we needed to have a couple of months training to compete with the colleges. In ways, it’s easier for students to train compared to inter- county players. The Clare lads have jobs to hold down and training to go to and the physical demands are tougher.
“IT know from my own time with NUIG that colleges have a lot of training done before Christmas and in fairness to Clare, the lads bat- tled hard and the work paid off. Our forwards ran hard and closed their backs down well. Fitness wasn’t an issue for us.”
David Russell, who watched the game from the terrace, hasn’t been part of the Clare set-up to date this season and Doherty is asked what the situation is with the Kilkee player.
“T’ve nothing to add really. I haven’t made any contact with David Russell and I’ve always said that the panel hasn’t been finalised. The door is open for everybody in Clare. If some- body plays well in the club league or wherever, we’ll give them an oppor- aUb av AA