‘CONNACHT CHAMPIONSHIP IS AS COMPETITIVE AS LEINSTER’
KEVIN McSTAY has hit back at commentators who have used Roscommon’s route to Sunday’s Connacht final as an example to illustrate the lopsided nature of the Championship format. Roscommon just had to beat Leitrim to book a date in Sunday’s decider — the third year in a row in which they have reached the final while avoiding big guns Galway and Mayo along the way. But McStay admitted that it grates with him when he hears critics pan the Connacht championship for its lack of competitive depth. ‘Munster have their easy games — for 70 years Cavan just breezed through Ulster because there was no one in Ulster,’ said McStay. ‘At the moment, is the Leinster Championship any more competitive than our championship? Probably not, we have three Division 1 teams. ‘It totally amuses me because I heard a Kerry man discussing it recently and for 100 years they have been playing Clare, Waterford, Limerick and Tipp when Tipp and Clare were not the teams they are now,’ blasted the Roscommon boss, who was a two-time Nestor Cup winner as a player with his native Mayo. McStay is a fan of the provincial championship, insisting that for smaller counties like Roscommon it is still a prize to be cherished. ‘For us, it was the pinnacle of our careers last year and to win a second one… ‘Do you think on the evening of the 17th if we have retained our title that anyone will be thinking about the easy route we had against Leitrim? ‘I just don’t see the energy to change it. ‘I would hate to see the Connacht Championship disappear but then I am a child of that Championship.’