Wicklow boss ‘quietly confident’ of a shock
JOHNNY MAGEE is quietly confident that his Wicklow footballers can pull off what many would consider to be a seismic shock by beating Louth on Sunday afternoon in Parnell Park in Dublin.
After a disappointing league campaign, expectations are low for Wicklow GAA supporters ahead of the clash with the Wee county but Magee says the mood in the camp is good, the competition for places is intense and the practice games played in the lead up to the big game have helped his side enormously.
“It’s going well (the preparation),” said Magee. “We’ve had a few weeks to prepare for the game and it was nice to be able to do that, to concentrate on that, to focus fully on one game.
“We’ve worked hard and the atmosphere is good in the group,” he added.
Their practice games included encounters with Sligo, Kilmacud Crokes and Waterford who they defeated by 0-16 to 0-08 last Friday night in Tinryland in Carlow.
“the aim (from the practice games) was to get lads sharper and have them going at full tilt and to have them as strtong as possible for the Louth game,” said Magee who feels that his men are coming good at the right time.
the Wicklow boss knows that Louth are now a Division 2 team with a side populated by quali- ty footballers despite the injury concerns they are facing ahead of the clash.
“I don’t think they will be taking us for granted but it’s going to be a big challenge for us. But we are more than capable of stepping up to the plate and getting the win. We’ve shown that in our last few championship games but it is a tough ask,” he added.
The situation with Stephen Kelly playing with the hurlers is not ideal says the Wicklow boss and all he can do is hope the Éire Óg Greystones man comes through unscathed.
“If we turn up and play as well as we can and apply ourselves over the 70 minutes I’m quietly confident we can get the win”.