Califf delighted to be back in the fold
JAMES Califf is hoping Louth’s resurgence can restore a feel-good factor to the county after making his first start of the campaign in the impressive win over Sligo.
‘We want to get Louth jerseys on kids backs again and we want them coming to support Louth,’ he said. ‘It’s all about getting people positive about Louth again after all the negativity. The players are putting the shoulder to the wheel to do that.’
It certainly helps when you’re winning and the Dreadnots man was happy with both the performance and result on Sunday.
‘We came here to put in a performance, Wayne always focuses on that and says the result will look after itself. So it’s great, three wins on the bounce. We’re not getting carried away, but we’re looking up the table rather than down which is a big plus going forward.’
A frustrating spate of injuries prompted Califf to step away from the county scene last season as he battled to get back to full fitness, but he insists it was an easy option to answer the manager’s call this term and he feels the competition in the panel has been the key to Louth’s revival.
‘I think the main thing this year is there are so many players fighting to get in. We have a few out that will come back, so overall we’d have to be happy with the strength in the panel and if someone is out injured or suspended, there is someone to step in. Even in training there’s a lot of competition, which is what you want.
‘For me it was an easy decision to come back. I took a year out to get the body right, but when I got the call from Wayne, absolutely I was going to take the oppoerunity. For me there’s nothing better than pulling on the county jersey and everyone in here is the same. Everyone in that dressing room wants to play for Louth.’
Reflecting on the game, Califf felt the first-half goals were crucial and while the Reds took their foot off the gas a little in the final quarter, it was a job well done overall.
‘The thing with Division 3 is that you have a lot of teams at the same level, so the first 20 minutes or so are always going to be a dogfight. Sligo got a good start on us but the couple of goals and the subs coming on to make a difference turned it around for us.
‘As the saying goes, goals win games. When we came in half-time nine ahead we knew we just had to play the second-half on our own terms. It was probably a bit lacklustre, but we knew we could control the tempo of the game and that was the main thing in the end. As long as we didn’t concede a goal we were always going to be okay. Overall you’d have to be happy, but there’s always improvements you can make.’