Mulroy eyeing positive start to campaign
LOUTH forward Sam Mulroy is a busy man these days - but that suits the Monasterboice star just fine.
Besides the commitments that come with being an inter-county player, the DKIT student has an important Trench Cup on Wednesday afternoon, just days before the National League opener against Longford.
And to top it all off, Mulroy has launched his own fitness class in recent weeks too.
‘It’s a nice distraction,’ he says with a wry smile. ‘The classes are along the strength and conditioning side of things. I did my placement up in Sport Ireland with Graham Byrne (the former Louth fitness coach). I was there for three months before Christmas, so I got a big insight into what is going on and it was the perfect pathway for me.’
Getting back to on-field matters and the looming league campaign, Mulroy’s eyes narrow as he displays his winning mentality.
‘You go out to win every game, so why not say we’re going to be promoted,’ Mulroy declares.
‘If we go off something like we did last year, where we took every game as it came. We had a bad start and picked up a few wins and next minute you’re in contention for it, so why not. We’re focusing on winning every game.
‘Wayne spoke about it with us, and it’s about performances, we’re looking for performances. That’s the main thing. It definitely won’t be easy. There is a lot of good teams in Division 3. People are saying it is probably tougher than Division 2!
‘We’re going to be up against it, but nearly everyone is on a level playing field. Tough games but hopefully a few good performances will give us enough points to put us in a position to go for promotion.’
In Mulroy’s opinion, more could be done to help add some glamour to the lower Divisions and he wasn’t afraid to pitch a few ideas himself.
‘It is one of the biggest competitions for us so maybe it should be prioritised a little bit more. In terms of media coverage, you don’t see too many games on the telly, especially in Division 2 or 3 or even 4. So you get to see the same teams and the same players each year which maybe isn’t fair but that’s the whole nature of being in Division 3.’
Sunday’s opponents Longford come into the game as O’Byrne cup champions having collected the title for the first time in 20 years. Mulroy feels regardless of silverware the extended pre-season run could count for very little come Sunday at 2pm.
‘It could stand to them it might not,’ he says defiantly. ‘They could be fresh, they could pick up injuries, you don’t know what is going to happen.
‘But we’re not focusing on them at all to be honest. It will be a big game,in the first game of the league it’s always important to get two points and get off to a good start. Obviously Longford then in the championship as well, so it will be a good match.’