Lacey wants to sit out the National League
FORMER FOOTBALLER of the Year Karl Lacey will talk with Donegal manager Rory Gallagher in the coming weeks, to discuss the possibility of sitting out next year’s Division 1 League campaign. The defender, who turned 31 last week, believe his injury-plagued body is unlikely to respond well to another programme of hard winter training. ‘I plan to meet Rory in the next week or two,’ the four-time All-Star said at Croke Park yesterday, where GAA Cúl Camp announced record-breaking numbers for the summer of 2015. ‘I don’t know what his plans are. If he wants me back in November, December time for training, I don’t think my body will sustain that for the whole season. If we sit down with the coaches and medical team, and come up with the best structure to put in place, so that I am peaking May, June or July rather than during the National League.’ There was the suggestion that Lacey may even miss the League. ‘That might be an option. At my age now, with the amount of miles in my legs, it is about taking down the game-time and training load a wee bit. I don’t know if Rory will be happy with that.’ Lacey doesn’t believe there will be a raft of retirements in Donegal this winter, despite the age profile within the squad. ‘Personally, I think there’s another year in these guys. It’s about what approach is taken, training-wise, over the winter. But next summer, if the right approach is taken over preseason, then they definitely have something to offer.’ Lacey admitted that he reaped the benefits of his decision not to actively seek work after finishing his Masters at the start of the summer, effectively becoming a full-time footballer. ‘Looking back, it was the right choice for me. I tore my medial ligament in the Ulster final and that normally takes four-to-six weeks to recover from, but I was back within 19 days, for the Mayo game. That wouldn’t have been possible if I had been working.’ Lacey is currently seeking work but feels it’s an option other players may pursue in the coming years. ‘Performance-wise, it’s definitely beneficial but financially, you can’t do it for a few years unless you have other income coming in,’ he suggested. The Donegal Town native feels Dublin will edge out Kerry in Sunday’s All-Ireland final, pointing to the quality of players such as Kevin McManamon and Alan Brogan that manager Jim Gavin can afford to have in reserve.
THE GAA has revealed this year’s Cúl Camps were the most successful ever — with more than 100,000 kids attending the camps in July and August for the first time ever. According to figures, 102,384 boys and girls, aged between 6 and 13, attended the 1,1000 camps across the country — a 15 per cent increase from 2014.