IT’S SEAN OF THE DREAD

Johnston’s fears for Cavan panel

SEANIE JOHNSTON isn’t entirely confident that Cavan will be able to play their best hand against Monaghan in next year’s Championship.

But he can be fairly certain their neighbours will in the Ulster quarter-final.

While Cavan have become increasingly competitive over the past number of years and will reside in Division One again next spring, Monaghan will be spending their fifth successive season in the top flight.

They’ve also collected a pair of Ulster titles under Malachy O’rourke and were agonisingly close to reaching this year’s Allireland final.

Cavan, meanwhile, haven’t been in the last four since 1997, when they won their last Ulster title and their best effort since was a single quarter-final appearance in 2013.

“I think all counties that are in that bracket, that aren’t ultimately dining at the top table, need all of their players playing first of all,” states veteran John- ston, who is yet to confirm whether he will play on under new boss Mickey Graham (below) next year.

“That’s something that wasn’t there in Cavan this year. There was probably maybe 10 or 12 players that would have been on the Cavan panel if they were able to commit for whatever reason.

“It’s a big commitment, it’s one that you have to be fully ingrained in and one that you have to really, really want to do, there’s no point in doing it otherwise.

“It is a big commitment and that’s the first step. I know that’s one thing that Mickey will be looking at, to try and get all the best players playing in Cavan.

“I don’t think there is one player that should be on the Monaghan panel that isn’t on it.”

The tradition and passion for the game in

Cavan, coupled with their presence in the upper divisions in recent years, might suggest that they would endure much less difficulties with commitment than others. Johnston continued: “There is a lot of people that it is still such a massive honour to play with Cavan and I would be saying to all those young people that they should commit because of the experience that it gives you, and you meet so many good people and you get so much excitement out of it and it becomes a real part of your life.

“And we need to get that enthusiasm and that excitement back around the Cavan panel.”

And Johnston admits that there is a certain level of “envy” with what Monaghan are achieving. “You have to applaud when you see a county maxing out their potential. I know even from speaking to some of them that they hate that word. They are just a very good football team.

“It’s not about the population they have. They just have excellent footballers. They are in the top two, three in the country.”