DERRY have been dealt a blow ahead of tomorrow’s qualifier clash in Galway with the news that Conor McAtamney, Terence O’Brien and Emmett Bradley have left the panel.
Swatragh man McAtamney was due to jet off to Chicago yesterday after taking up an offer to play football in the States for the rest of the summer.
It’s understood that O’Brien has also opted out of the panel. He was introduced for the final 10 minutes of last Saturday’s 1-16 to 1-10 win over Wexford but failed to appear to training at Owenbeg on Tuesday night.
Derry boss Brian McIver said he could not confirm that O’Brien had left as he’d had “no contact” from the Loup man but that McAtamney had gone.
“Sometimes circumstances dictate these things,” he said of McAtamney, who came on and scored a point in the final few minutes of Saturday’s game.
“There’s not a lot you can do. One thing I’d love to see, which won’t happen, is for someone to find out how much finances all these lads that go to America actually come back with.”
O’Brien’s fellow Loup man Aidan McAlynn also recently opted out while versatile Glen man Bradley, who has had an injury-hit season, is also set for America after also quitting the panel in recent weeks.
In total, it brings the number of players to have left the Oak Leaf squad since the start of the season to more than 10.
James Kielt quit ahead of the Ulster semi-final loss to Donegal, while Barry McGoldrick, Brian Óg McAlary, Gerard and John O’Kane, Niall Toner, Declan Brown and Ciaran Mullan have all left through the year.
However, Gareth McKinless is expected to be added to the panel for this weekend’s trip to Salthill after missing the Wexford game while on holiday.
“He’ll definitely be on the panel. The benefit he’s had since the Donegal game is that he’s had a couple of club games.”
Patsy Bradley, Mark Craig, Karl McKaigue and Michael McIver are also all back in contention.
Derry’s preparations survived a round of club games last weekend in which a host of first-team players took part.
Many played within 24 hours of the game with Wexford as the battles at the bottom of Division One and the top of Division Two of the club leagues intensified.
“We could have been doing without it,” admitted McIver.
“It’s not just in Derry that this problem is. The calendar is the biggest problem in the game and nobody wants to touch it. But at the moment, our focus is on getting ready for Saturday and nothing is distracting that.”
