Cleary: ‘We couldn’t face a tougher task than going to Ballybofey’
Cork face Donegal in NFL opener after McGrath Cup final win
EATEN bread os soon forgotten, as it is with McGrath Cup title wins.
No sooner had Mark Cronin tucked away Cork’s fifth penalty in last Saturday’s shoot-out to win the McGrath Cup final against Kerry, than the Rebels footballers were turning their focus on next Sunday and the start of the National Football League.
And as campaign openers go, it doesn’t get much harden than an away trip to Donegal to face a team that played Division One last year, and who have Jim McGuinness back as manager.
“It doesn’t get any easier now, we have to go up to Donegal next weekend, and it will be more of that, and probably with even more intensity,” Cork manager John Clearyl, referencing the really tough game they had just got from Kerry at Pairc Uí Rinn.
“In that respect, [McGrath final] was good preparation for what’s facing us over the next few weeks.”
While early silverware will be a small but welcome confidence boost for Cork, Cleary has much to consider and deal with ahead of the Division Two campaign, not least a lengthy list of players unavailable.
“Off the top of my head, Seán Powter, Killian O’Hanlon, Stephen Sherlock, Kevin O’Donovan, Tom Clancy are all injured. Brian Hurley isn’t in the frame as of yet, and there are probably one or two others as well that I’m leaving out of that.
“But we’re no different to anyone else I would think. They all have injuries, so that makes it even more vital there that the other guys on the fringe of the panel are able to step up.”
The Cork manager knows what to expect from next Sunday’s league opener with Jim McGuinness’ Donegal.
“We couldn’t face a tougher task than going to Ballybofey next week, but all we can do is prepare and do the best we can. Get up there, give it our best shot, and see where we’re at. It will be a barometer to where we are going.
“Then the following week we go up to Louth, and we were beaten up there last year, so it’s a tough, competitive league.
“If we’re going to make progress, we need to be up towards the top of that league. That’s our aim, we’ll see over the next few weeks if we can get there or not.”