ROCKCORRY manager Mickey Morgan is certain his side will benefit from the recent county call-ups for four member of the team in the Dr McKenna Cup.
Goalkeeper Jamie Smith, captain Niall McKeown, midfielder Mark Thornton and forward Fergal McGeough all started for Malachy O’Rourke’s Monaghan in the defeat at home to Armagh before returning to their club ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland Junior Club Championship semi-final clash with Mayo’s Ardnaree in Carrick-On-Shannon.
“It’s some satisfaction for four from one junior club all starting on the one day, but it speaks volumes of Malachy O’Rourke and his backroom team," said Morgan.
"They are looking in and showing that it doesn’t matter if you’re junior, intermediate or senior, whatever age or creed, if you’re good enough, he seems to be willing to give you a chance and fair play to him.
“The four boys have now been selected for the National League panel and that’s great news to get this week. They came into training on Tuesday night and everyone was congratulating them and genuinely happy for them. It was the sort of injection we needed this week.”
While it’s something of a rarity for a county to call up players still involved in All-Ireland club duty so early in the year, Morgan was more than happy for his men to sample the Farney senior set-up.
“Malachy O’Rourke was very up front with us. He wanted to look at the boys, but at no stage did he interfere with what Rockcorry were doing. From my point of view, you have to be selfish and to be thinking of the club but, for the individual player, they might not get this chance next year," added Morgan.
“At no stage was there any problem with them going because, as a player, if you’re getting that chance, you have to take it. From my own point of view, when they came back I was thinking ‘I’m going to have to up my own game now’ because they were only coming back from a county set-up.
"They were away playing football with the best players at this moment in Monaghan and training with 30 players a night and playing full games, so they’re going to get better. Yes, from an injury point of view, you would have been worried but they could have got injured just as easily training with Rockcorry too.”
Morgan is well aware of what a win this weekend will mean to everyone involved at the club, with the ultimate prize of walking out in a final at Croke Park there for the taking.
“When you put Christmas and the bad weather to one side, preparations have been good," he said.
"At this time of year, it’s been a long season. It’s great to be here, but it’s a long year. For any player to still be playing and training at this time of year with his club, there’s only one competition you want to be in and that’s the All-Ireland Club Championship.
“Whoever comes out of our semi-final and the other semi-final, the path leads to Croke Park and that’s massive,” added Morgan, who admits Rockcorry had found information on their Mayo opposition difficult to come by since the Monaghan men beat Faughanvale in the Ulster decider back in November.
“We don’t know enough about them. You hear bits about them, but you’re really going into the unknown now because, in Ulster, information is a bit easier to come by. It’s been difficult to get much about them,” he said.
“Every night you’re leaving training, you’re just hoping that everyone has improved that one per cent and that every night they are at it, they are constantly improving and that you’re constantly looking to improve them. Our focus is ourselves but, at the same time, we can’t be naïve and we realise that we are going into the unknown.”
The affable Rockcorry boss admitted he will have some nerves come Sunday and, while he jokingly refused to reveal his real age, he says the excitement in the build-up had made him feel considerably younger.
“You have to try and be as cool as possible, but I’ll be no different to them," Morgan said.
"It’s a big event and it’s there to be enjoyed. If you’re nervous, so be it. We just hope we can channel that in the right way. In the build-up, I’ve been looking forward to it. I’m like an 18-year-old again!”
