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KICKSTART
BY Tony Tighe
 Back to business
for Irish inter-county footballers.
WITH last weekend came the hugely-welcomed return of GAA inter-county
football as teams once again begin the long road towards summer success.
The training gear has been washed, the studs have been tightened —
now the hard work starts.
One player who is all too familiar with the rigours of pre-season training
is Dublin star Collie Moran, for 2008 will be the Ballyboden St. Endas
clubman’s 11th season with the Dubs.
Moran made his first appearance of the season in Saturday’s double-scores
victory over Mick O’Dwyer’s Wicklow and admits that even after
a decade of inter-county football, it’s great to be back.
“It was a good way to start off the New Year,” he said when
The Irish Post caught up with him on Monday.
“Both teams were a bit rusty and there were plenty of mistakes but
we were very happy with our attitude. It was a workmanlike performance
and the big bonus was to get the win because it gives us another chance
to play a high-quality game against Westmeath next weekend and a chance
to improve further.”
In seasons past counties would have been playing challenge matches in
months prior to Christmas. However, the Central Council has banned games
during this period much to the fury of some managers and officials. Moran
isn’t one player you’ll hear complaining and views the break
as an ideal way to recharge his batteries.
“Players need to get some down time and have a bit of rest after
a long season,” he said.
“Central Council don’t want county teams playing challenge
matches in November and December and although I’ve heard some managers
being critical of this, I personally think it’s a good idea.
“Some of the guys were still playing club promotion and relegation
games during those months so the last thing they needed was more matches.
“I know there are some guys who are capable of constantly ticking
over but personally I was glad of the break.”
But now the break is over, and players and management alike must start
concentrating on the season ahead. The Dubs returned to training as a
squad last week and Moran admits there is plenty to do prior to their
National League opener with Westmeath on February 2.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us in the run-up to the Westmeath
game,” admits the 27-year-old.
“This time of year tends to be more stamina-focused whilst in the
lead up to Championship games the work would be a little bit shorter,
where rest is more important.
“It’s hard work but we’ve had a good break, now it’s
all about getting down to work and back into shape.
“We just returned back training as a group last Thursday. There
are guys working on gym programme as well at this time of year so it was
nice to be back mixing with the squad. They will still continue with these
gym sessions so it’s just a case of us getting out on the pitch
on Tuesdays and Thursdays and hopefully we’ll continue our progress
in the O’Byrne Cup and have competitive games at weekends. All other
counties are in the same situation as us. The main thing at this time
of year is to get lots of game time in preparation for the National League.”
Dublin struggled in the League last year losing to Tyrone in the historic
and much-hyped first floodlit game at Croke Park and also suffered defeats
at the hands of Donegal, Kerry and Mayo.
They finished fifth in Division 1A, meaning relegation to Division 2 for
the newly-formatted League structure this season.
“We were disappointed to be relegated last year,” said Moran.
“But looking at Division 2 it’s a very strong division. We’ll
be facing strong teams like Cork, who were All-Ireland finalists, Monaghan,
who fared very well last year getting to the quarter-final, Armagh, Meath
and Roscommon.
“It’s going to be very competitive but we’re looking
forward to it. We’d like to do what we did last year and blood some
new talent for the Championship during the course of the League.
“Hopefully this will help us achieve our main goal, which is to
retain our Leinster title and of course capture the All-Ireland.”
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