Kelly: Still places up for grabs in Louth team
COLIN Kelly insists there are places in his Championship XV up for grabs as Louth play two challenge matches in three days this weekend.
The Reds chief, who lost Derek Maguire to America recently, revealed that Adrian Reid and Andy McDonnell are also doubtful for the May 21 date with Wicklow.
Both players are suffering from knee injuries, with McDonnell recently undergoing surgery on the knock he sustained in the Sigerson Cup final in February.
‘The advice at the time was to rest up for around five weeks and we took that on board and Andy didn’t return until the Tipperary game down in Thurles,’ Kelly revealed. ‘But he wasn’t right after either game, so he went in to get some loose cartilage cleared out of the knee. It’s a minor procedure, but it will keep him out for 4 to 6 weeks. We hope he will be able to start some level of training before that timeframe is up.
‘Adrian didn’t play for Mattock on Friday or against Monaghan last Wednesday, but we’re hoping a few weeks rest will clear up his problem.
‘Sam Mulroy and Bevan Duffy had quad strains, but we managed those injuries by not training them through the club schedule and they should be okay.’
Louth coped well without McDonnell for most of the NFL campaign, but with sweeper/ half back Maguire now departed, Reid could be a key figure this summer.
Kelly admitted it was a ‘massive blow’ to lose Maguire, but he respects the Young Ireland player’s decision and won’t hold it against him.
‘He was 100 per cent honest about. He called to my house the Tuesday after the League final to tell me the opportunity had come up, so he was very honourable in how he approached it.
‘There are two sides to the whole America thing. On one hand you have done a lot of work to win promotion and get ready for the championship and all of a sudden you lose a key player. But on the other hand this is a young land who has a life outside of the GAA whose taking an opportunity before he settles down and I’m not going to judge him for that.
‘We’ve had similar situations with Tommy Durnin, James Stewart, Patrick Reilly, Andy McDonnell, Conor Grimes and no-one is going to hold it against them. We can’t afford to think like that in Louth, we’re lucky to be producing players of that quality.
‘Of course from a selfish point of view Derek is central to everything we’ve done over the last three years. After my first year here he was a failed corner forward and that was completely my fault, but when I approached him about moving back and sweeping he embraced it and from a turbulent first year we’ve developed a strong bond.
‘We’ll miss him, but it’s an opportunity for someone else and lads have been putting their hands up. The younger lads, Sam and Ross have three or four club games behind them and Ronan Holcroft has been shooting the lights out for St Fechin’s, so this is where a strong squad comes into play.’
Everyone should get a chance to impress this weekend as Louth take on Longford in Monasterboice on Friday (8.00) night and Westmeath in Clogherhead on Sunday afternoon (3.00).
We should be able to go with two different starting fifteens, or as close as possible. We’ll see if lads can push themselves into the picture for Wicklow. It’s a new competition and we’ll have to make changes due to the injuries and what not.’
Kelly plans to ramp up the preparations for the Leinster Championship from now on, admitting they ‘didn’t do a whole lot’ since the League final due to club activity.
However, the Reds’ chief now has a clear run to the opening round clash with Wicklow.
‘I learned very early in this job that there’s no point fighting for a piece of the guys and trying to keep their workload high at times like this.
‘But we’re free to work our way up to the championship now.
‘We played Monaghan and lost by six in the end. It wasn’t a bad display against a Division 1 team, but it was a typical challenge match. We’ll have another couple of run-outs this week and take it from there,’ he added.