RUNNERS & RIDERS IN 2024 ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 3

ANTRIM:

MANAGER: Andy McEntee (second season) LAST YEAR: 6th (W2 L5) ODDS: Promotion: 4/1; Relegation: 3/1 FIXTURES: (A) Limerick, (H) Offaly, (H) Down, (A) Sligo, (H) Westmeath, (A) Clare, (H) Wicklow PREDICTION: They are comfortably better than a lot of sides here but still not good enough to get the job done — 4th

CLARE:

MANAGER: Mark Fitzgerald (first season) LAST YEAR: Relegated from Division 2 (W2 L5) ODDS: Promotion: 5/1; Relegation: 11/4 FIXTURES: (H) Sligo, (A) Westmeath, (A) Offaly, (H) Wicklow, (A) Limerick, (H) Antrim, (A) Down

PREDICTION: They have lost so many players that they are almost certain to be involved in a relegation dogfight but they can survive — 6th

DOWN

MANAGER: Conor Laverty (second season) Last year: 3rd (W5 L2)

ODDS: Promotion: 1/4; Relegation: 50/1 FIXTURES: (A) Wicklow, (H) Limerick, (A) Antrim, (H) Offaly, (H) Sligo, (A) Westmeath, (H) Clare

PREDICTION: Their odds suggest that they are a class apart from the rest, but Westmeath and Sligo could put them under pressure, but just not enough — Winners.

LIMERICK

LAST YEAR: Relegated from Division 2 (W0 D1 L6)

ODDS: Promotion: 8/1; Relegation: 11/8

FIXTURES: (H) Antrim, (A) Down, (H) Sligo, (A) Westmeath, (H) Clare, (A) Wicklow, (A) Offaly

PREDICTION: Limerick will hope that Jimmy Lee can work the kind of magic his brother Billy managed, but success here will be measured in avoiding the drop. Decimated by a long list of absentees, it has the makings of a long spring — 8th

OFFALY

MANAGER: Declan Kelly (first season) LAST YEAR: 5th

Tough campaign: Wicklow boss McConville (W4 L3)

ODDS: Promotion: 10/3; Relegation: 4/1 Fixtures: (H) Westmeath, (A) Offaly, (H) Clare, (A) Down, (H) Wicklow, (A) Sligo, (H) Limerick

PREDICTION: The appointment of their AllIreland winning Under-20 manager will raise expectations, but they are likely to remain a group infected by inconsistency — 5th

SLIGO

MANAGER: Tony McEntee (fourth season) LAST YEAR: Division 4 winners (W6 L1) ODDS: Promotion: 5/1; Relegation: 11/4

FIXTURES: (A) Clare, (H) Wicklow, (A) Limerick, (H) Antrim, (A) Down, (H) Offaly, (H) Westmeath

PREDICTION: The sense that the county is on the up, boosted by underage success and a senior side with momentum, is intoxicating. Their fate is likely to be decided in a winner-takes-all final round clash with Westmeath — 3rd

WESTMEATH

MANAGER: Dessie Dolan (second season) LAST YEAR: 4th (W4 L3) ODDS: Promotion 1/4; Relegation: 16/1 FIXTURES: (A) Offaly, (H) Clare, (A) Wicklow, (H) Limerick, (A) Antrim, (H) Down, (A) Sligo PREDICTION: Their form in last summer’s Championship hinted at a team that really should be playing on a more permanent basis at a higher level. It is in their own hands to do just that — Runners up.

WICKLOW

MANAGER: Oisín McConville (second season)

LAST YEAR: promoted from Division 4 (W4 D2 L1)

ODDS: Promotion: 20/1; Relegation: 1/3

FIXTURES: (H) Down, (A) Sligo, (H) Westmeath, (A) Clare, (A) Offaly, (H) Limerick, (A) Antrim

PREDICTION: History informs us that when Wicklow go up, they tend to come back down quickly. Oisín McConville may be good, but he will not defy the laws of football gravity — 7th