Relegation favourites are proving doubters wrong

I’M starting a new job at the end of next month, so l handed in my notice at the beginning of last week.

Since the summer of 1985 when I left school I’ve never had more than a couple of weeks off at a time. In my own mind I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a whole month off work. To catch up with all those little things you never seem to have time for when you’re busy, busy, busy with the rigours of working life.

Similarly, I’ve been writing this column since 2011 and often considered what it might be like to have the entire week to come up with a really interesting topic without the distractions of the daily grind.

Well .... after just a week of this new-found freedom I’ve discovered it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be after all.

February is probably not the best month from a timing perspective. Storm Doris and her 100mph wind gusts meant that outdoor activities were limited, so there was little chance of getting out on the bike, reducing my golf handicap or improving my 10K time.

I spent the first few days cleaning up in the garden and inspecting the storm damage. The usual dilemma of whether the cost of repairs would exceed the insurance policy excess prevailed. After doing my sums and some careful consideration I decided to hold onto my no claims bonus. The resulting workload, however, meant I was kitted out in my DIY gear for the rest of the week.

All the time I waited for that Eureka moment but it never arrived. In fairness, cleaning out a blocked drain doesn’t really provide inspiration for very much. I was so damn busy that I never got a chance to even think about this week’s column. After a full week of emancipation I’m beginning to concur with the thinkings of Aristotle. The ancient Greek philosopher postulated that ‘nature abhors a vacuum’ - meaning that an empty or unfilled space is unnatural and must be filled with something. Therefore, despite my best efforts, you’ll just have to make do unfortunately with the same old same old. Maybe next week!!

Louth continued their winning start to life in Division 3 with a well earned five-point victory in Tullamore on Sunday. Two first-half goals from Ryan Burns provided the platform for our third win on the trot, putting us two points clear at the top of the table.

For a team who the bookies €20 on Monaghan to beat Tyrone in Omagh at odds of 5/2 had ranked as favourites to go straight back down to Division Four, Louth’s early season form has been remarkable. The second half O’Byrne Cup Final showing apart, Colin Kelly’s side have shown a consistency and a appetite so far in 2017 that many felt was possibly beyond them. There is still along way to go in this competition and there will no doubt be some bumpy patches, but what I like about the side at the moment is the huge workrate throughout the team - from both the starting 15 and the guys that come in from the bench.

Well done to all involved thus far, but let’s keep the workrate going for Antrim on Sunday. The Saffrons will arrive in Drogheda buoyed by last week’s win over Sligo. They were always a team who thrived on confidence but struggled badly when it was missing. The same bookies have now installed us as second favourites behind Tipperary for promotion. It seems barely conceivable, but then it is the Premier League, a realm where almost anything seems possible. Ten months after guiding 5000/1 rank outsiders Leicester City to the Premiership title, arguably the greatest shock in this history of football, Claudio Ranieri has been unceremoniously sacked.

Supporters, management and players have clearly struggled mentally to come to terms with the scale of last season’s success. The star performers of 2016 immediately come to mind. Whether Hardy and Mahrez are distracted or disengaged is open to debate, but their form has been dismal. The dilemma of stay or go at the end of last season has clearly affected both.

Everyone will feel huge sympathy for Ranieri, but if they begin the slow climb out of the relegation zone then the affable Italian will become a distant memory, a mere fairytale to tell the grandkids in the years to come.

•Our Sideline Bet sponsor Kingbet are running a Cheltenham Preview Race Night in conjunction with Dreadnots GFC on Tuesday March 7th at 8pm in McHughs Bar in Drogheda. The expert panel will include Donn McClean, Tony Keenan, Davis Casey and Jack Kennedy.

As usual it promises to be a great night and tickets can be had from McHughs, Kingbet or any committee member.

With Cheltenham just around the corner we’re also coming into a bit of form at the moment with three winners from the last four picks. Downs miserable run of form just had to come to end and last weekends win over Meath in Newry added another €50 to the kitty.

This week we go for Monaghan to continue their run of form by beating Tyrone in Omagh at odds of 5\2.